Back to the Living
by hailey-shiro
Summary: Momo thinks that Toushiro works way too much. To fix her friend's problem, she gets him (and some other Shinigamis) to go to the Living World...for a year or two. Can he learn to live like a normal teenager, though? Especially when he realises what his strange feelings really are? (HitsuHina).
1. You need a vacation

**A/N****= Hiii! This is my first fanfic here so don't expect it to be really good… cux it probably isn't. The story is set ****_after_**** the whole Aizen-battle thingy and so Aizen is like… dead or locked-up or whatever happened to him and it's in Toushiro's POV. And he might be a bit… out of character. So…um please read and review.**

* * *

I hate this. It's so tiring. Like, seriously, I think I get wayyy more paperwork than most Captains. No, wait… that's only because Matsumoto never does her share of paperwork.

Damn, why did I even become a Shinigami, let alone the Captain of the 10th division? Oh… right… I wanted to protect Momo. She was the only kid who wasn't afraid of me back in Junrinan. When I got bullied by other kids, she would tell them off. She knew how to make me smile on a bad day. She was my only friend. No, scratch that. She was, and still is, my _best_ friend.

But trying to protect your best friend comes at a price. And that kind of price that can only be payed by doing mountains of paperwork. Stupid, dumb, time-wasting paperwork… No. No no no! Sulking over paperwork is childish. I am _not_ childish. If anything, I am a mature and grown-up.

Oh, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Toushiro Hitsugaya, the Captain of the 10th division in the Gotei 13. My spiky hair is the colour of snow. And no, it's not a disease. It's just like that. My eyes are this weird emerald colour and they are ridiculously huge. And to make matters worse, I'm not exactly tall. Well, I have grown taller… just not tall enough! It's already hard enough being the youngest Captain in the Gotei 13, but do I have to _look_ like a child too?

Well, I guess that does kind of make sense, considering that I _am_ a child. No, wait, I'm not a child. Well…I kind of am… oh who cares! I will not act like a child. Then maybe people will consider me as a responsible young adult. Even if it means doing this all darn paperwork night and day, missing my afternoon naps (Hey! It helps me grow taller!) and looking like a freaking panda with dark circles around my eyes. *Sigh*. I'm so tired… But I can't go to sleep… I have paper… work… My eyelids feel so heavy… I think… I'll just put my head down… on this dumb paper-work… only for a second… a few minutes of resting won't kill anyone… I think….

* * *

"Shiro-chan!"

What the hell… I can hear Momo's voice. Why would she be here? The clock on the wall says it's only 3:47 pm. Why would she randomly come to see me at this hour of the day? Wait 3:47?! My head shot up and crashed into something. Really hard. Because I actually began rubbing my head.

"Itte…You should be more careful..."

I looked up to see Momo Hinamori. Oh… so I wasn't imagining her voice. She was rubbing her chin, her big brown eyes slightly startled. I think she was trying to see if I was awake or not, and my head must have hit her. Ugh, now I feel kind of guilty. "Shiro-chan, you have a little-"

I frowned at her. "Don't call me that." Seriously, she promised to stop calling me that stupid nick-name when I entered the Shinigami Academy. And did she stop? Obviously not.

"You didn't mind the first time," she said, then chuckled nervously at my glare. "Right, you were asleep…" Then she stared at my left cheek. And laughed. Like, a full-on maniac type of laugh.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you ok, Momo? Did Matsumoto make you drink sake or something?" She shook her head and continued laughing. Seriously, I'm getting really freaked out right now.

Momo calmed down and ran a finger over my cheek, then showed me her finger. It was covered with something black. She pointed downwards at my desk. My eyes followed her finger and, I'll admit, I had to refrain from yelling and hitting myself on my head. I mean really, how could I be dumb enough to take a nap on my oh-so-important-but-totally-stupid paperwork? Now it's all smudged and probably all over my face. My thoughts were interrupted by a long yawn. And if you haven't figured it out yet, _I was the person who yawned_.

"You haven't been sleeping much, have you?" Momo asked, her voice different from the usual happy one. I knew that tone. She's about to go all big-sister on me. Oh god, help me.

"Of course I've been sleeping, Momo…" I said, unconvincingly "What makes you think otherwise?" And then I just _had_ to yawn again. What great timing.

Momo raised an eyebrow at me. "You need to rest. Take the day off… I'll go tell the Sou-taichou. This isn't healthy, Shiro-chan."

I opened my mouth to protest but she's already shunpoed away. Crap. And she concealed her reiatsu so I couldn't track her down. Double crap.

* * *

I don't care whether people are staring at my ink-smudged face as I shunpo through Seritei. I _needed_ to see the Sou-taichou before Momo. I want to keep doing my Shinigami duties and she can't stop me. But by the time I got to the Sou-taichou's meeting room, the doors were locked and I bet I look like a maniac pounding on them now. But I stopped as soon as I heard voices.

"So, what I'm hearing is that you wish for me to send Hitsugaya-taichou on a vacation?" That was the Sou-taichou, it's obvious.

"Yes," said Momo's voice. "I will go with him if I have to, but Shiro-chan really needs this!"

Oh, really, do I, Momo?

"I think it is a good idea Sou-taichou." Hey, that was Ukitake-taichou. What's he doing here?

"I second that." Ok, that was Kyoraku-taichou.

Of course Momo went to those two. They're the two captains that pity my age the most. Curse that girl's intelligence and its timing.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

Uhh, yeah, Sou-taichou, I'm pretty sure they are.

"Well, it does seem like he needs a holiday."

Oh c'mon Kyoraku-taichou… I honestly don't think so.

"After all, he's still only a boy. Fourteen years old by Shinigami standards."

And what's wrong with that, Ukitake-taichou?

"Well, let's see what Hitsugaya-taichou has to say." The Sou-taichou said, and the doors opened. Finally. Took you long enough. I stepped into the room, making sure to scowl hard at Momo. She just shrugged.

"Hitsugaya-taichou," started the Sou-taichou. Then, frowned closely at my face. "Oh my, you do look tired. May I ask, what happened to your face?"

Huh? Oh, yeah. The ink mark. "My deepest apologies sir, I may have fallen asleep. On my paperwork."

Kyoraku-taichou burst out laughing. "Oh that's classic!"

He's really not helping my situation right now. Then again, he _did_ say that I needed a vacation.

"Hinamori-fukutaichou has requested me to send you on a vacation for a while." said the Sou-taichou, seriously.

"I really don't think-" I began.

"I did not ask for you to speak!" He bellowed. "In reply to her request, I have agreed to let you take a short break for a year or two." What the heck? That's a _short_ break?! "You will be going to the World of the Living, and you will try to live as a normal teenager. You will be accompanied by a few other Shinigami."

I cleared my throat. "Who are the _other_ ones?"

"Oh. Hinamori-fukutaichou, Kuchiki-fukutaichou, Abarai-fukutaichou, Madarame-fukutaichou and Ayasegawa-fukutaichou." The Sou-taichou counted off his fingers.

Ok, well that seems alright. They all listen to me.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Matsumoto- fukutaichou will be going too." said the Sou-taichou, amusedly.

WHAT THE HELL WHY DO YOU HATE ME?!

"You will be staying at the Substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki's, house." noted Yamamoto Sou-taichou.

Oh I get to see Ichigo again. That's pretty cool. We have this big-bro-little-bro kind of friendship. And I'm the little bro. Depressing isn't it? Nevertheless, I do miss him. He's a good friend. But mention to anyone that I said that and I _will_ find you, and then kill you in the most torturous way possible.

"Is that clear, Hitsugaya-taichou?" asked the Sou-taichou, stroking his grey beard.

"Yes, Sou-taichou," I answered, truthfully. 'Cause ya know… I wanna see Ichigo again.

"Now, you will be relieved from your Shinigami duties…." said the Sou-taichou, stroking his beard again. His loooong beard. I wonder how he manages it… "Hitsugaya-taichou?"

Eh? I think he asked me something. But seriously, that beard is _really_ distracting.

"Hitsugaya-taichou?" he asked again. Ok, he really did ask me something. I have no option other than to stare blankly at his face.

"Shiro-chan?" Momo said, shaking me by the shoulders. "The Sou-taichou asked you something. Are you gonna answer or not?"

"Sorry…" I said sheepishly. "I wasn't paying attention." I resisted the urge to add 'your beard is really really really distracting, stop stroking the thing!'.

"I said," the Sou-taichou repeated irritably, "On the off-chance that a Hollow decides to visit Karakura Town, you are allowed to take care of the matter." I nodded, slowly.

Ohhh. That's what he said. It's amazing how much you can miss by staring at a mop of grey hair, don't you think?

"One more thing. You will have to attend a human school as well."

WHAT?! What kind of a holiday requires you to go to school? Seriously!

"Understood." I replied as calmly as possible. That is, without throwing a tantrum. Because that would be embarrassing and out-of-character. I walked with a fast pace, grabbing Momo's arm and dragging her along the way. When we get back to my office, she's in a lot of trouble.

* * *

"What's the matter, Shiro-chan?"

Momo was trying to get out of my grip, but that's pretty hard since I'm the stronger one. I narrowed my eyes at her. "What's the matter? WHAT'S THE MATTER?!" I yelled at her. "I have to go live in the Living World is the matter!"

"Yeah, isn't it great?" Momo beamed at me. "We'll have fun, I promise! You and me, Shiro-chan. Just like the old times."

I loosened my grip on her wrist, and looked at the ground. _The old times_. It's been so long since I did something fun with Momo. I may not show it, but I _do_ appreciate her company. "Yeah. The old times." My voice came out real quiet.

I think Momo noticed the tone of my voice, because she pulled me into a hug. It was her way of saying 'Don't worry, I'll be with you the whole way'. She has no idea how much I miss those hugs.

"Sugoi Shiro-chan, you're the same height as me now," she said in a surprised voice. Ok, so I did grow a lot taller. "I used to be able to rest my chin on your head when I did this."

She's still hugging me. It's getting kinda weird. "Momo, when will you let go of me?"

I heard her soft laugh. "I'll stop when you hug me back."

Ugh, can't do that. That's totally not me. "Momo I don't do hugs."

"Sure you do." She replied. "We used to cuddle all the time back in Junrinan."

I sweat-dropped. "We were kids."

"We still _are_ kids."

"…." I sighed. I put my arms around her middle, and gave her a squeeze. "Happy?"

"Yes!~" Momo sang innocently. Just then, the door slammed open.

"Taichou! I hear that we're going to the-" Matsumoto stopped her sentence, her crystal-blue eyes widening slightly. "Oh. My. Freaking. French toast."

Momo and I both let go of each other. "Th-that-that was not what it looked like." I don't sound very convincing. Why does my voice have to shake _now_ of all times?

Matsumoto nodded her head in mock agreement. "Sure, you weren't just hugging your girlfriend."

"Rangiku-san… Shiro-chan and I are just close friends." Momo said with a giddy laugh.

"Yeah. You two are _really_ close. Like close enough to be boyfriend and girlfr-" I cut her off mid-sentence.

"She's not my girlfriend!" I tried my best to control my reiatsu so that I don't freeze the whole Seritei to death.

Matsumoto laughed nervously. "H-hai, taichou. I was joking. Tee hee."

"So." I said, trying to pass on from the moment. "What are you here for?"

"Um, this is the 10th division and I am your fukutaichou. I can come here for no reason. It's our office." Matsumoto said, and sat on the couch.

"Actually, this is _my_ office. Not your bedroom." I said, as coldly as I could.

Momo put a hand on my shoulder. "It's ok Shiro-chan, let her stay." I looked over to my left, at her big, innocent, child-like eyes…. Big mistake. Now how am I supposed to argue?

"U-um. Ok." I said, looking away from her face. "Just this once, Matsumoto."

I looked at my fukutaichou, and saw that she was gaping. "What's the matter, Matsumoto?"

"You-she-no-what-HOW?" Matsumoto pointed from me to Momo, and back to me again. "She convinced you to change your mind in one _sentence_! You should come over more often Momo. Anyway… I heard that a bunch of us are going to the Living World. Is that true?"

"Yes." I said, "we're leaving first thing tomorrow."

"What?" Matsumoto threw her hands into the air. "I need to buy new clothes. We can't go to the Living world for a holiday in _these_." She pointed at her shikakusho. "We need to go shopping!"

Momo stared at her. "Are you sure?"

"YES!" said Matsumoto excitedly. "Oh, I know some good stores. We can get you a really cute dress Momo-chan, and you'll make Taichou go 'whoa' and-"

"Nobody's making anyone go 'whoa'" I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Oh don't worry Taichou," Matsumoto said dismissively. "We'll get you something too. But you'll have to come with us, so that we don't mess up your size."

"Hell no!" I shrieked. Oh my god, that sounded so girlish.

"I'll do my share of paperwork."

"Haha, very clever. We won't _have_ any paperwork for two years or so."

"I'll not drink any sake!"

"As if that's even possible."

"Mouuu taichou," Matsumoto sighed, frustrated. " I… I won't call you guys lovebirds."

That's an interesting pact. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Matsumoto exclaimed, exasperatedly.

I thought it over. "….No."

"C'mon Shiro-chan, it'll be fun." Momo's sweet voice came from my left.

"_Sure_," I said sarcastically, refraining myself from turning my gaze to her. And before I knew it, she's in front of my face. I looked at the ground.

"Please, Shiro-chan?" She said, lifting my chin with her fingers, so that I was looking at her. Not the eyes, not the eyes. Don't look at those eyes. Oh, those puppy-dog eyes…"_Pleeeease?_"

"A-alright then." Ok I can't argue with those eyes. I have a soft spot for Momo, in case you haven't noticed.

"What the heck Momo?!" yelled Matsumoto, clearly impressed. "Oh my gosh, you're a miracle creator, I swear!" Then she took each of us by an arm. "C'mon lovebirds, we're going shopping!"

"HEY!" I shouted. "You said you wouldn't call us that!"

"I didn't say for how long, though~"

I groaned. This was gonna be a long day.

* * *

**Sooo...that was my first chapter. I hope you guys liked it. Sorry if there are any spelling/grammar mistakes, I did try my best. See you all later~**


	2. Meeting the Kurosakis again

**Well….here's the second chapter. It has a lot of clothing descriptions, haha, I like describing clothes. I'm sorry if it makes no sense, because I had a high fever half the time I was writing -.-" Thanks for the reviews on the previous chapter, I'm so happy :D**

**A few of you asked about whether there will be romance between Momo and Toushiro...I'm thinking of adding it in later. One of you (you know who you are :P) asked about IchiRuki. I think there will be some IchiRuki too.**

** So yeah….please read and review if you'd like to.**

* * *

"Matsumoto, are you done yet?"

I was waiting in front of my office, which was locked. This morning, Matsumoto barged in with Momo and kicked me out. From my own office! I wonder what they're doing that's taking them so long… But then again, Matsumoto takes _forever_ to do most things. I need to get in there. I left my clothes in there. Yes, as bizarre as it sounds, I actually bought stuff yesterday.

"Just a second taichou! Or maybe more than a second. I'm almost done with Momo's makeup!"

Oh… So she's using my office as her personal dressing room? If I find even the smallest amount of _anything_ smudged _anywhere_ in that room, she's going to pay for it. "Hurry up! My stuff's in there!"

"Hai, hai!" The door unlocked and I was pulled into the room, by no other than Rangiku Matsumoto, the most annoying girl on earth. "So, what do you think, taichou? What do you think of my marvellous masterpiece?" She turned me around to face…. Wow… Just wow…

Momo (at least, I _think_ it was Momo) was wearing a pink t-shirt and denim capris. She had a pair of white ballet flats on, and a pink bracelet around her wrist. Momo's dark brown hair was left loose, her bangs framing her tiny face. Matsumoto hadn't over-done Momo's makeup, she's only applied some pale lip gloss and some mascara. It's been a long time since I've seen her in normal clothes. She looks simple but cute and… why am I paying so much attention to her?

"Taichou?" Matsumoto waved her hand in front of my face, snapping me out of the trance I was in.

"Y-yeah?" Oh for god's sake, why does my voice shake at the wrong moments?

"You like what I've turned Momo-chan into, ne?" She poked me playfully in my stomach. I glared at her. "Oh, come on taichou," she continued, "I _know_ you think she looks beautiful. I mean, you should have seen the adorable expression on your face a while ago. Just tell her she looks nice, taichou, it's no big deal."

Yes it _is_ a big deal! No actually… why am I making such a fuss out of this? Momo's my friend, right?

I cleared my throat. "You look nice."

Matsumoto make a tut-tut noise. "No! Not like that taichou!"

I raised an eyebrow at her. Then, I turned back to Momo. "A-ano… Momo, you… look… really pretty?"

"I guess that's ok." Matsumoto sighed from behind me.

"Arigato, Shiro-chan!" Momo smiled sweetly. "You're being really nice today."

Umm, _Matsumoto_'s the one that got me to compliment you, baka.

"Aww, Taichou, you're blushing! You like a girl!" Matsumoto squealed, giving me a deathly hug from behind. "You're finally growing up! I'm so proud of you!"

"M-matsumoto, let me g-go, I n-need to..breathe." I hate her hugs sometimes. Most of the time. _All_ the time. "I don't like Momo. Not in _that_ way." I freed myself from the life-threatening clutches of Matsumoto and grabbed my clothes from my desk, and ran/walked to my room. The door to my room was inside my office so it was pretty easy to just enter it and quickly lock myself in there.

I hurriedly tore off my shikakusho and put of a pair of black skinny jeans, and yes, I _like_ those jeans. Pulling on a blue hoodie, I opened up my wardrobe and found a pair of black and blue converse sneakers. And let me tell you, it wasn't easy to find them because, believe it or not, I'm sneaker-obsessed and I have like…what, 12 or 13 different pairs of sneakers? But that's only my secret to tell and yours to keep your mouth shut about. Got it? You better have…

* * *

Now Matsumoto's nagging that she needs to go wear something better. No, missy. You are standing straight in front of the Senkaimon, and you will just wear those grey skinny jeans and purple halter top. No way am I letting you go all the way back just to let you change from white heels to black heels. Come to think of it, how do girls even walk in those things? They're like mini evil torture-devices…

And now we will wait _patiently_ for Abarai, Madarame, Ayasegawa and Rukia. Yeah, she and I are on first-name basis. We're friends. Besides, it sounds kind of weird to call her Kuchiki, because I call brother Kuchiki...so yeah, Rukia is just fine. Arghhh where are they?

* * *

Alright, I am looking at the weirdest, creepiest (and strangely somewhat amusing) people in the whole of Soul Society. Abarai is wearing hippy type clothes and a bandanna on his head that says 'Red Pineapple'. If that isn't weird enough, he is also wearing star-shaped sunglasses. Madarame is dressed pretty normally, except for the wooden sword on his belt. I don't get this guy's weird desire for violence. Ayasegawa… He's in _girl's_ shirt. Enough said. Rukia would actually look alright if it weren't for the various Chappy designs here and there.

"Is everyone ready?" asked a familiar voice from the side of the Senkaimon. Kisuke Urahara. When did he get here? "Alright, I'm opening the Senkaimon." And that's exactly what he did.

"Yes we're ready! Let's go!" said Abarai enthusiastically. Then he jokingly bowed to Matsumoto and Momo. "Ladies first."

"Thank you!" Matsumoto said energetically and pushed past everyone else.

"Arigato Gozaimas, Abarai-kun." Momo said and pulled me along with her. Heyy he said _ladies_ first. I'm not a lady. But if it means I get to go through the Senkaimon quickly, then… whatever.

Urahara smiled at us creepily. "Now that Hitsugaya-taichou's grown a bit, you two look really cute together!"

I face-palmed. Seriously? "Why does _everyone_ say that?" It's so annoying!

"Ehh Taichou…. Because it's true! Some genius you are…" Matsumoto pursed her lips and frowned.

Momo sighed and shook her head. "C'mon, guys. We should really go."

* * *

"Are you sure we shouldn't enter like last time?"

Last time? I stared at Abarai. Was he stupid? _Last time_, they broke Ichigo's light globe and fell in through the empty hole. Did he seriously want to piss Ichigo off again?

"No," I said firmly. "This time, we will _knock_ on the _door_." I walked ahead, leading the way. Hah, I feel so important. _No._

I was already at the door, but the others were a bit behind me and all over the place. I raised my fist to knock on the shiny door, but it opened.

"Ichi-nii, I'll be back after some fresh air and a bit of-" A girl with her short black hair in a ponytail stopped midway in her sentence, her gray eyes widening slightly. "Toushiro!" This was Karin Kurosaki, Ichigo's younger sister. She then gave me a hug, which I really did not expect because the last time I saw her, she was a complete tomboy. She didn't _do_ hugs.

"Ehh? You want a bit of Toushiro? What?!" Ichigo's voice came from the living room. "Karin, that makes no sense! He's not even here!" He suddenly appears next to Karin. "What the heck?"

"Hey." I managed to give him a small wave despite Karin almost strangling me.

"Toushiro-" The orange haired boy began.

"Hitsugaya-taichou!" I corrected him. Geez, when's he ever going to remember that? "Karin, I need air."

"Sorry." She said sheepishly, pulling away. "It's been a long time since I last saw you, hahaha."

"Long time no see bro." Ichigo grinned and extended his fist out to me and I bumped it with mine. Then I think I smiled a little. Can't help it.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I can hear slight panting. "Sorry Taichou! We fell a bit behind. I hope you're not mad, though." Matsumoto let go of my shoulder.

But that was soon replaced by two slender arms around me. Momo rested her chin on my shoulder and breathed in. "Gomen…Shiro-chan…we…r-ran."

"It's ok, I guess.." I held one of her delicate little hands, which were still hugging me.

"Dark hair…Brown eyes…Ano…You must be Momo Hinamori-san. I've heard a lot from Toushiro about you." Ichigo stated. "I knew you were close friends and stuff, but I didn't think you guys were like _that_." He gestured to our current position.

"We're just really close friends." I assured him. Momo's still panting, so I'll let her lean on me.

"Ah, then you probably shouldn't be hugging all the time, Taichou." Matsumoto said matter-of-factly.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm just waiting for her to catch her breath. Hey where are the others?"

"We're heeeere~" said Ayasegawa's voice. He flipped his shiny hair. "And I'm still as beautiful as ever." Behind him, Madarame sweat-dropped, Rukia rolled her eyes and Abarai face-palmed.

"Ehh why are you all here?" Ichigo is staring at us with a 'WTF' expression.

* * *

"Ok, so where are you all gonna stay?" Ichigo asked, as we all went into him bedroom.

"Isn't it obvious? We'll stay _here_!" Rukia said, smacking his head. "Idiotic, as always."

"Say that again chibi!" Ichigo yelled.

"I'm not short!" Rukia bellowed back, punching him. "You're just enormous!"

"Kurosaki-kun, Rukia-chan I don't think-" Momo tried to make peace.

"Don't worry that's their usual way of greeting." I explained.

"NII-SAAAAAN!" I saw a blur of yellow flash past me. In a swift movement, both Rukia and Ichigo kicked the thing to the floor, and kept it _on_ the floor by stepping on it. See? After they fight a bit, they work pretty well together.

The yellow object turned out to be a lion plushie, with a mod soul called Kon inside it. I really hate Kon. He's annoying and dim-witted. And overall, he's just perverted.

When Ichigo and Rukia stepped off, Kon looked up and saw Matsumoto. "Ahhh, the heavenly swim-suit model goddess is here with her lovely curvy figure!" What did I tell you? Perverted. And that was just him getting started.

Kon's eyes went from Matsumoto to Momo. "We have a new Nii-san here! Areh? She's pretty cute!" He jumped up towards Momo's chest and I smacked him before he could come into contact with her, and pinned him to the floor. With my foot.

"Don't you _dare_." I said as scarily as possible, and the temperature of the room dropped.

"Ah, the Shorty-san found himself a girlfriend!" Kon's muffled voice came from under my foot.

"What?! No! She's my friend! Just my _friend_!" I quickly stepped off the annoying Mod Soul.

"Sure, sure, Shorty-san…" Kon muttered dismissively. So you know what I did? I kicked him straight to the floor again. With _both_ feet. No kidding.

"Don't call me Shorty-san. _Ever._" I growled at him. Then regaining my cool composure, I looked to the rest of them. "Anyway, moving on. The Sou-taichou gave us permission to stay in your house. I'm pretty sure he told your father." Ichigo's dad used to be my Taichou, I'm not entirely sure what caused him to stop being a Shinigami. But he could still contact the Sou-taichou if he wanted to.

Ichigo stared at me, dumbfounded. "How come I don't know about this?"

Rukia scoffed. "Because you weren't listening, probably." Gosh, she's so mean to him.

"Shut up, midget." But we all know that deep down, both Ichigo and Rukia like each other, a lot. Actually, _like_ would be an understatement. "I'm sure he never told me. That old geezer. C'mon people, we're going downstairs." Ichigo stood up. "Well, whatcha waiting for idiots? _Come_ _on_!"

* * *

Isshin Kurosaki scratched his head. "I didn't tell you?"

"No! You bloody freaking DID NOT!" Ichigo exclaimed. "Now what are we going to do?"

Isshin grinned. "Thank god I had extra guest rooms added when we renovated the house this time."

Ichigo had steam coming out from his ears. "You just didn't _want_ to tell me anything, right?"

"Right!" Isshin gave him a thumbs-up. "See? Being smart isn't a total waste!" Ichigo scoffed at his dad's comment. Personally, I think that their arguments are pretty funny.

"So, Ichigo my son," said Isshin. "Introduce your guests to me."

"Heh, they're more likely _your_ guests, not mine." Ichigo muttered. He pointed to Renji. "This is Renji Abarai. That one's Yumichika Ayasegawa, and the baldy's Ikkaku Madarame. You've already met Rukia-"

"Rukia-chan!" Isshin yelled excitedly, shaking hands with her vigorously. "My third daughter! You're back!"

"Thank you for letting me stay in your lovely home, Kurosaki-san." Rukia bowed politely.

"Call me Dad!" Isshin said, shaking his head. His eyes went to me, since I was next to Rukia.

"Dad, the kid with the white hair is-" Ichigo was cut off by an extremely happy Isshin.

"Toushiro Hitsugaya-kun!" Isshin yelled loudly, his eyes brightening.

"Eh?" Ichigo looked at us in confusion. "You guys know each other?"

"Of course, Ichigo!" Isshin said matter-of-factly. "How could I possibly forget my favourite fukutaichou?" He patted my head fondly, then quickly stopped. "Sorry, Toushiro, I forgot you hate when people do that."

I wanted to yell at him. But he _was_ my Taichou once… I can't do it. "It's alright, sir." Like hell it's alright. I think Ichigo can see how awkward I feel.

"_Anyway_," Ichigo said quickly. "The strawberry-blonde next to him is Rangiku Matsumoto, Toushiro's fukutaichou." Thank you, thank you, thank you very much for getting the attention off me.

"Hello Isshin-san!" Matsumoto said chirpily. "I wonder…was Hitsugaya-taichou always so strict when you were the Captain?" Oh trust Matsumoto to ruin your mood.

Isshin's eyes grew wide with wonder. "Toushiro's a Captain? Great job kid! I remember moments when…" I looked to Ichigo desperately, with a look that he knows as '_help me_'.

"Ehem, Dad." Ichigo cleared his throat loudly. "The girl with the brown hair next to Rangiku-san is Momo Hinamori. She's Toushiro's best friend."

Isshin looked confused. "I thought _you_ were his best friend."

"She's my… _other_ best friend." I explained quickly.

"Friend? Are you sure, Toushiro?" Isshin winked at me.

"Why didn't _I_ join the 10th division when _he_ was Captain?" Matsumoto mumbled to herself.

"Okay, bye dad. You have….that _thing_ to go to." Ichigo said and gestured for us to follow him as he went upstairs. "Alright! So…Rukia, you'll sleep in my closet, like usual."

"YESSS!" Rukia punched the air in victory. "I even brought stuff to decorate it." Wow, that's weird.

"Calm down, baka. I was joking." Ichigo laughed. "You're in the room on the right side of mine, with Momo. Is that alright?"

"…Fine." Rukia said after a while. Momo nodded.

"Rangiku-san, you're in the room on the left of mine. Choose a room-mate."

Matsumoto tapped her chin for a while. "Renji! He's one of my drinking buddies!"

"Alright," Ichigo said. "The room next to Rukia and Momo's is for…"

Then, I started freaking out because I could have to share a room with either Madarame or Ayasegawa. Madarame is heck too violent. He'll probably try to fight me in his sleep. Ayasegawa is just… no offence to him but he just….gives me the creeps.

"…for Ikkaku and Yumichika. Since you guys get along well." Ichigo grinned at me. "You're with me."

I am so damn relieved….

...YESSSS! OHH VICTORY! WHOOO! "Sure Ichigo."

* * *

"Yuzu-chan, this tastes awesome!" Rukia said happily as we all ate our dinner. How the heck did this table get so big that _all_ of us can fit around it?

"Well, I'm glad all you ghost people like it!" Yuzu smiled. Yeah, she knows that we are ghosts.

Yuzu is Karin's twin, but they are nothing alike. Yuzu has light brown hair (that used to be short, but is now in two pig-tails) and big eyes in the same brown as Ichigo's eyes. She's really girlish and sweet. While Karin likes stuff like soccer, Yuzu likes cooking and sewing and umm….cute things. That kind of annoyed me the first time we met, because I was shorter than her, which automatically made me 'Kawaiiii!'. Her words, not mine.

Suddenly, Madarame burst out laughing. "Hitsugaya-taichou, you eat food like a girl! Ahahaha!"

Well you eat like a hooligan, got that? "Excuse me?"

"Hahah you're so _sophisticated_ and _well-mannered_ it's almost funny!" He laughed really hard, and so did Matsumoto.

I would really love to smash a vase on his bald head. But that would be weird to the others…so… I'll just _pretend_ that the roof fell on both him _and_ Matsumoto. "Well, I try not to mess things up for other people." I fake smiled at him. The roof is falling…it's falling… it fell. God, that's funny.

* * *

"Sorry Toushiro, I don't want to make you sleep in the closet." Ichigo smiled apologetically. We are in his room, sitting on his bed. "Dad said he'll get some guys to come in tomorrow to fix up the bunk-bed. Tonight, you'll have to sleep in Rangiku-san's room. They have an extra bed in there. You can sleep there for the whole time you're here, if you want."

"No, no way. Matsumoto says stuff in her sleep that can _really_ scar your mind." I shuddered.

Ichigo laughed. "Sometimes I wish you lived here with us. I've always wanted a little brother."

"You have Karin. She does boy-ish things." I said.

Ichigo sighed. "But it's just not the same… she's still…well…a _girl_. Besides, she's kind of changed into something a bit um… girlier than before."

"I can see that," I said. "She actually _hugged_ me. That's something the old Karin would never have done in at least 200 years."

"Yeah…well… I'll see you tomorrow." Ichigo got up and yawned.

* * *

I…can't…sleep…AT ALL. How the freaking banana fudge is Abarai sleeping so soundly? I haven't let Matsumoto nap in my office for a while, so I sort of forgot that she snores. She snores like a _chainsaw_ going through a really thick wall of diamond. She snores _loud_, I tell you. Really loud.

I walked over to her bed and turned her head to the other side. Yay, she stopped snoring! I feel like I've made a great achievement, seriously.

But as soon as I lay back down on my bed, she went off again like a buzz-saw. Be quiet! Be quiet! Be quiet! "Be quiet!" I covered my mouth quickly. I hope nobody woke up. I don't usually shout out my mind like that.

Matsumoto was still snoring, though. Really, really loud. I think the room is _vibrating_. Ughh it's so hard to concentrate on sleeping. Ok. One sheep… Two sheep…

* * *

Seriously, I've tried everything! I've counted sheep, I've put my pillow on my head, I've tried to turn my day-dreaming into actual dreaming, I've turned and turned Matsumoto's head over and over so many times. Nothing is working!

I want to cry out of frustration. Wait…I already did that. I need to get some sleep!

"FREAKING SHUT UP!" I threw my pillow at Matsumoto, and collapsed into a heap onto my bed. I feel so childish. I'm practically throwing a tantrum. A tantrum over something that's not really Matsumoto's fault. I heard the door slowly creak open and someone stepped into the room.

"Shiro-chan?" I'd recognise that voice anywhere.

"Momo?" I turned around and there she was, in a pink nightgown with her hair in a loose pony-tail.

"Yeah." She whispered. "I heard you yell. Can't sleep?"

"I-I-I was…yeah."I'm too tired to make up an excuse.

"Rangiku-san snores too loud, right?" Yep, this girl knows me well.

"Yeah…I need to desperately fall asleep." I yawned.

"Come with me." Momo said quietly.

"Come with…Sleep in your room?" I asked, and she nodded.

"I hope you don't mind sharing the bed." She said. "We used to do it all the time when we were little, so you're fine with it right?"

Of course I'm not fine with it! It's awkward now. I mean, we're not the little kids we once were. But….staying _here_ won't let me get any sleep. "Ok then."

I carefully walked over to Matsumoto's bed and lifted my pillow, which I'd thrown before, from her face. I'll let her breathe.

I followed Momo into her room and suppressed a laugh. Rukia was asleep on her bed, hugging a large Chappy plushie. She looks like a young child. It's seriously hilarious to see. It's actually kind of cute too. If I were Matsumoto, I'd take a picture of this and use to blackmail Rukia. But…I'm not Matsumoto…So Rukia is safe.

Lying down next to Momo, I felt her snuggle against me. "I'm cold."

I pulled the covers over us. "Then use the blankets, you baka."

Momo pouted. "You're all mean again. I thought you were being nice today."

I rolled my eyes. "Just sleep, Bed-wetter."

Momo shivered. "But I'm still cold."

Then, I realised that it _was_ kind of cold. But I like the cold, so I guess I never noticed. I sighed. "Come here." I sort of opened up my arms under the covers. Well, I tried to.

Momo snuggled against me again and nuzzled my neck. "You smell so nice, Shiro-chan."

I smiled and loosely put my arms around her. "If you _dare_ tell _anyone_ about this… Ohoho…You are in big trouble."

"Goodnight Shiro-chan…" Momo said, softly laughing.

"Goodnight…" I can't help but smile. But I have this weird feeling in my stomach. And it's not going away.

* * *

**Well…that was chapter two! I hope you liked it! The ending was so…sweet. I really liked writing it :) Please click the pretty review button below ^.^ I'm already working on the next chapter. Bye~**

**P.S. The link to Momo's outfit is on my profile. I just couldn't leave it alone, it's so cute :P**


	3. Have fun!

**Soo…I'm doing the third chapter (YAY!) and thanks so much to all my awesome reviewers! Soo enjoy this chapter :)  
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, or Harry Potter…or anything cool for that matter (T-T)**

* * *

I yawned and sat up. And yawned again. Then I nearly fell off the bed when I saw who was next to me.

"Be careful, Toushiro." I looked over to see Rukia in her bed, running her hands through her hair. "You'll wake up your girlfriend."

I am pretty sure I have an anime vein on my head. "She's not my girlfriend."

"I was kidding." Rukia laughed. "You overreact a lot. So…care to explain why you're _here_?"

"Well…" I thought back to last night. "I couldn't sleep because Matsumoto snores like a pig. So Momo asked me to come here. And since you guys don't have an extra bed and stuff…Momo said I could sleep next to her. Because we're close friends and all."

"I'm your friend." Rukia pointed out. Then she dramatically wiped a fake tear from her eye. "How dare you choose Momo when you have a _friend_ like moi!" She pointed to herself.

I chuckled. Because Rukia can be funny sometimes. I got up out of bed and walked out the door. "See you later."

* * *

Refreshed and awake, I changed my clothes and stepped out of the bathroom. I hurried downstairs for no reason. The sweet scent of pancakes filled the air, and so I just poked my head into the kitchen. You know, out of curiosity. Yuzu was happily making pancakes while humming a cheerful tune, in her own little pancake-world. I feel kind of bad that she always does all the cooking by herself.

"Want some help?" I asked, approaching her.

Yuzu turned around, surprised, but smiled. "No thanks, I'm used to cooking by myself. Besides, you're our guest! So just relax and have fun!" She beamed at me.

"But I want to help y-" I began, but Yuzu cut me off.

"I don't need any help, Toushiro-kun. I do the cooking." Her tone was slightly aggressive.

"Alright. Just a suggestion." I laughed nervously, and walked out of the kitchen. There was nobody in the living room, so I'll go wake Ichigo up. However, as I walked towards his bedroom door, I heard an awfully familiar voice talking. And it did not belong to Ichigo.

"And then I really needed to pee-" that's definitely Matsumoto. Why's she in there?

"Oh skip the stupid details Rangiku-san. Just get to the point of whatever's so much more important than me sleeping in late." Ichigo's never going to change. Never.

"Well…" Matsumoto said. "I woke up and Taichou wasn't in the room." Alright, so I'll eavesdrop. Just this once.

"Maybe he went to the bathroom or something…" Ichigo said groggily.

"See? This is why details are important!" Matsumoto sighed. "I _went_ to the toilet and he wasn't there! So, I checked your room and he wasn't here!"

"You came into my room without _asking_?" Ichigo was purely annoyed.

"Yeah! And he wasn't in Baldy and Yumichika's room either."

"Well, I don't see why he'd go there." I know right, I have no reason to go there!

"So then," Matsumoto began, her voice excited. "I checked Momo and Rukia's room. And guess who I found there?"

"Santa Claus?" Ichigo asked sarcastically.

I could just imagine the expression on Ichigo's face when Matsumoto said "No, dummy! I found Taichou!" Oh no. She saw me! Oops…

"So, what's the big deal? Maybe he just went to say 'Goodnight' to Momo." Yes, Ichigo. That's precisely what I did… not.

"Oh and do most childhood friends say 'Goodnight' by sleeping together?" Matsumoto asked, skeptically. "I don't think so!"

So I chose that moment to just enter his room and walk in neutrally. I acted surprised. "Oh, you're up. Good, I won't have to throw water on your face." I smirked. I'm pretty good at _acting_. I mean, do you know how hard it is to always act the way I do and not be out of character?

"Ah~ Taichou, we were just talking about you." Matsumoto said.

Is she mentally retarded? Who _tells_ someone that they were talking behind their back? "Me?"

"Yeah. About you sleeping with Momo-chan," Matsumoto's eyes shone with anticipation. "My respect for you is growing."

I scratched the back of my neck. Then my eyes widened as I pretended to remember. "Ohh. I only slept there because you snore loud. Like… really loud." Ichigo laughed.

"And my respect is shrinking again." Matsumoto huffed. Then she fiddled with her mobile phone (yeah, she carries it everywhere) and showed me the screen. "But look at this picture. It sure doesn't look like two childhood _friends_ sleeping."

I gaped. "You took a _picture_?"

"Yep, and it's so adorable!" Matsumoto squealed.

In the photo, Momo and I were asleep, on her bed. The blanket was kind of covering us, but only up to mid-thigh (alright, so it wasn't covering us much). My arms were around her waist and her head was resting peacefully on my chest, right below my chin. We totally didn't look like friends. We looked like a couple.

"Taichou!" Matsumoto said loudly. "Why are you staring at it?"

I frowned. "Delete it. It looks wrong."

Matsumoto laughed. "Ahahahha…it looks wrong…ahaha….Taichou has a dirty mind!"

I scowled. "No, I meant, it makes us look like…like..."

"Like what?" Ichigo asked, suddenly curious.

"….like…_not_ childhood friends." I finished lamely.

"Precisely why I'll keep it!" Matsumoto grinned widely like the Cheshire Cat. Creepy much.

I hung my head. If things go right with this act, the picture will get deleted. "Please delete it."

Matsumoto giggled. "Aw, you're so cute Taichou!" She patted my head. "But no, I'll not delete it."

Oh come on. Ok, time to get a _bit_ sneakier. I bit my lip. "Don't show it to anyone."

I saw Matsumoto's grip on the phone loosen. Alright, now or never. I snatched the phone and frantically deleted the picture. "HAH! You fell for it!"

Matsumoto's face was irritated at first, but then she seemed surprised. "Taichou… you're acting like a teenager! All sneaky and sly!"

"And _you_ fell for it!" I laughed. "Well, see you guys downstairs. And hurry up, Yuzu's been making pancakes all morning and she did _not_ let me help so you guys better come downstairs and eat."

* * *

I walked into the living room to wait while everyone else woke their lazy butts up. Rukia entered, wearing an oversized white sweater with a large Chappy in the middle, and pink Chappy-design tights. There was a small Chappy-shaped hairclip on her hair. Chappy freak. A real big Chappy freak.

"So…," She sat next to me on the couch. "Do you have a crush on Momo?"

DA HECK?! Is that the kind of question you ask a person first thing in the morning? But it shouldn't be too hard to answer that truthfully. Because I know what I feel towards Momo. "Nope. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason." Rukia said. "I was just asking."

I sighed. "I'm serious."

"I believe you, I believe you." Rukia smiled at me. I smiled back.

I'm glad we became friends. She's one of those people who can actually understand me pretty well. Ichigo said it was because we had many things in common such as an ice/snow type zanpakutou, we both grew up in bad areas of Soul Society, we both have big eyes and we're both midgets. The last two comments earned him a punch. Like seriously, don't compare my appearance to that of a girl… I'm a guy.

A thought suddenly occurred to me. "Rukia? You aren't going to tell anyone about what happened right?"

"Don't worry." Rukia shook her head. "I won't tell. I promise."

"Thanks. Now Matsumoto can't prove anything."

"Rangiku-san? She wouldn't do anything! She respects you so much."

I stared at Rukia, who was trying to keep a straight face. However, our efforts weren't very good and we burst out laughing.

* * *

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere."

"Why are going?"

"You'll see."

I sighed. Ichigo is not giving me straight answers. I'm currently in the passenger seat of his red Mazda 3 (yeah, he can drive now; cool isn't it?), travelling to God knows where. Momo, Matsumoto and Ayasegawa are occupying the back seats. Rukia and Madarame are with Abarai (who claims to be able to drive) in Isshin's white Ford Futura, driving right behind us.

"Can you at least tell me if we're there yet?" I asked, hopefully.

"No." Ichigo replied.

"Soo..we're not there yet?" I need to be sure.

"No."

"…Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there now?" I can see an anime vein on his head.

"WOULD YOU _PLEASE_ JUST SHUT UP? I know I've said that you should act your age, but now's not the time!" Ichigo yelled at me in annoyance.

"Sorry…" I said, a bit bewildered because he just like…exploded. I guess that's how other people feel when I yell at them. And I don't feel one bit sorry for them. Most of them (*ehem ehem* Mastumoto) have a good reason to be yelled at. But just for the fun of it… "….Are we there yet?"

"Yes, we are _now_," Ichigo said. "I could tell from the tone of your voice that you liked annoying me."

Yes, yes I did. I grinned at him. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Ne, Kurosaki-kun, what's this place?" Hinamori asked, as we got out of the car.

Ichigo smiled at her and pointed at the Ferris-wheel in the distance. "An amusement park."

* * *

"Alright, so…my dad said that you guys should all be welcomed and crap," Ichigo explained when everyone was present. "And that I should take you guys to an amusement park to do so."

"What?" Madarame, Abarai and Momo all asked, with confused faces.

"I know, that was my reaction." Ichigo shrugged. "So, pick a partner and we'll meet back at this spot in an hour. Alright?"

"Why do we need to have partners?" Madarame asked. He put a fist on his chest. "I'm a MAN! Men don't _need_ partners!"

Everyone sweat-dropped. I had an idea. "If your partner gets a really cool prize, then maybe you can split it between you both." I nodded convincingly as I said this.

"Ohhh!" Madarame said. "Hitsugaya-taichou, you are a genius!"

I _know_. "So, who's going to partner up with who?"

Abarai pulled a coin out of his pocket. "Let's flip a coin!"

How does that even help us to…? "I don't think so."

Ichigo sighed. "Everyone just go with your room-mate. It's easier that way."

"Alright!" Everyone yelled and went off in different directions.

"So, Toushiro-" Ichigo began.

"Hitsugaya-taichou!" I said, frustrated. Then, seeing the skeptical look he gave me, I just had to chuckle. "Ok, just don't let other people know that I let you call me by my first name. Or else they'll think I'm a nice person…and that I've gone… _soft_."

"Toushiro, I know you. You will never _go_ soft," I let out a breath of relief. "You always have been soft." WHAT?! How dare he! I'll show him what soft is…

* * *

"Alright…so…are you sure won't be scared?"

I raised my eyebrows at Ichigo, while we're in the line to go on the ride 'Evacuated Tunnel to Hell'. Apparently, it was one of the scariest rides of this amusement park. "I've fought battles with Espada. Do you seriously think _that_ could scare me?" I pointed to the entrance of the dark tunnel.

"It scared Renji so badly last time," Ichigo laughed. "He almost peed in his pants."

"Well, Abarai gets freaked out easily." I pointed out.

"True." Ichigo laughed. "But if I get scared, don't laugh at me, ok?"

"I will make no such promises." I huffed at him.

My attention turned to the guy in front of the entrance, who was dressed as a bloody pirate. He smiled, showing a bunch of bloodied teeth. "Tickets?" He held out his hand, which was actually a hook with a basket hung on it. Ichigo dropped his ticket in there and I did the same. "Ya might wanna say yer prayers before going in there." He laughed evilly.

"Yep, and you might wanna brush your teeth." I said calmly, and entered walked in through the entrance of the tunnel, leaving the pirate-guy extremely confused because I wasn't scared.

"Brush your teeth?" Ichigo laughed as he walked in with me. Then his eyes widened as he looked around the place. "Whoa. This place has changed since I last came here."

I had to admit, it looked pretty creepy. The whole place was only dimly lit by a faint green glow, the walls dark and dusty. A few paces in front of us, there was a large pool of murky water, and a single very old-looking boat waiting patiently for us. I remember watching a movie like this with Ichigo. It was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. This looked almost exactly like the scene where Harry and Dumbledore go into some hidden cave to get a locket. And the eerie silence that hung in the air was not helping.

"Well," said Ichigo. "Let's hurry up and end this."

"Scared, are we?" I smirked at him as we walked towards the boat.

"No way," he scoffed.

We sat down in the boat, and waiting for something to happen. As I expected, the boat started moving slowly. Ichigo laughed. "This isn't scary at all!"

Wait… "Ichigo, haven't you been on this ride before? You should know what happens!"

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "But last time it was a train, not a boat. So I'm not sure how much they've changed this r- AAAAAAAAAAAH!" The boat was suddenly going at an extremely high speed, the dark water splashing everywhere. "WHAT THE HEEEELLLLLL?!" Ichigo was screaming.

Then, the boat was slowing down, and I felt something brush the top of my forehead. A spider web. I looked up, and I saw a _lot_ of other spider webs. Spiders of all sizes ran over the faintly glowing walls, as if they were running from something. I'm pretty sure they're just remote controlled or something. I mean, _real_ spiders aren't _that_ hairy unless they are tarantulas, right? RIGHT?!

Ichigo finally stopped screaming. "Dude, this place is creepy."

"No kidding." I said. "Oh. My. God." I stared behind Ichigo.

"What?! What is it?" Ichigo asked, hysterically. _Then_ he turned around and gasped. There was a tall corpse, dressed in white, wavy brown hair on its dead head. "A-a-aizen?" Ironically, he had a hole in his chest too.

"You will pay for your mistakes, Kurosaki Ichigo!" Then 'Aizen' exploded into a pile of very realistic guts.

"He-he-he knows my name!" Ichigo yelled at me, and shook me by my shoulders. "HOW?!"

"I don't know! Calm down, Ichigo." I actually had to shout at him.

"How can I-" Ichigo stopped his sentence. "Did you hear that?"

I stared at him. "Are you serious? How am I meant to hear _anything_ with you screaming at me?" Then, I heard it too. A raspy, pained moaning. "Oh, you mean that?"

"How can you be so calm about this?" Ichigo is going nuts. I'm sure. Like…come on. It's a scary _ride_. Everyone knows the stuff that's used is totally fake.

The moaning got louder and louder, and an extremely foul (yet just as familiar) stench filled my nose. Blood. That was the smell of something that's dying. It's definitely real blood. I looked down at the brownish-green water and saw long streaks of dark red weaving through it. "Ew."

"EW? You should be more like 'AAARGH!' or something! You're not normal, Toushiro!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Well, yeah, in what cases can you expect a dead person to be normal?" I asked him.

"Oh...true… you're dead…" He said.

I shook my head at him. "Don't say it like that, it's insulting!"

"Sorry…" He sighed and looked down. "This thing better end soon. It's just…"

"Well, the Aizen thing was creepy, I guess." I looked forward and tried not to puke. "Ugh."

Ichigo raised his head and groaned. In front of us was the most disgusting looking zombie I have ever seen. Well, I haven't seen many zombies but… it's still gross, ok? The thing had really waxy-looking, pale blue skin. It had a really bony face, and one of its eyes is popping out of the socket, the other one completely missing. But that's not the gross part. Its stomach had a large tear on it, and internal organs are spilling out, blood dripping at the edges of the tear. Some sort of infection was spreading through his left arm, and the smell of blood was getting stronger. Too much detail? Sorry, I'll stop.

The zombie-creature-thing just stared at us with that creepy one eye and groaned something inaudible. The sooner we pass this thing, the better. Oh did I day better? Just kidding, it got _worse_. All these slimy hands shot up through the water and started gripping the boat. Oh believe me, there were a _lot_ of hands. But it's still not scary, though. Just gross. And awfully slimy.

We passed a few more…gross and weird things… that I'm not going to describe to you. I mean, would you want to know that there was a brain with a snake eye on it? Or that the chainsaw-man took off his mask to reveal a decaying skull with maggots creeping through the empty eye sockets? Disgusting…

There was a ghost coming our way. It was a girl in a long white kimono, the middle of it stained with blood. She was looking down, so we couldn't see her face; just her dark brown hair. Seriously, this is just creepy. The ghost stopped in front of us and so did the boat. Oh come on. What are these people thinking? A ghost isn't going to scare me. I'm already dead, so they might as well call _me_ a ghost.

The ghost raised one of her pale, sort of see-through arms and pointed at me. "You hurt me. I thought you always said you would protect me…"

That sounded really familiar… I gasped as she looked me straight in the eye. That was…It couldn't be...How… "Momo…"

The ghost did have an extremely Momo-like face with blood splattered on her cheek. She began crying and got closer to me. "How could you?!" Her face twisted into something very much like a Hollow mask and she let out a piercing yell, disappearing into thin smoke.

I felt like crying. No, I wasn't scared. It's just…The ghost seemed like it was in so much pain. As if it was hurt a lot. As if _Momo_ was hurt… and I couldn't protect her…

"Man, pull yourself together. It was just a…a fake thing." Ichigo said, shaking me. "Momo is _fine_. She's probably out there, riding the Ferris Wheel with Rukia or something. She probably wouldn't want her dear _Shiro-chan_ to worry over her so much…"

I blushed, and crossed my arms over my chest. "Nothing's wrong with me."

"If you say so," Ichigo rolled his eyes. We just sat in silence for a long time. "Isn't it kinda quiet?"

As if on cue, a large amount of water came tumbling down onto our heads and drenched us, head to toe. I spat out some and groaned. "I don't like this ride."

"Neither do I," Ichigo said as he shook his head, sending water-drops flying onto my already wet face.

We saw light in front of us, and were glad to know that the ride was over. We got out of the stupid boat and went through the end of the tunnel. Ichigo shuddered. "We are never ever doing that again."

I nodded. "Like _ever_."

Ichigo laughed and pointed at me. I glared at him. "What?"

He stopped laughing and grinned. "You sounded like Taylor Swift when you said that."

I glared again. "Shut up before I turn you into a human popsicle."

"Sure, sure."

"Ahh, I see you guys enjoyed my ride." We turned to see no other than Kisuke Urahara.

"Urahara-san?" Ichigo asked. "Wait, you own this ride?"

"I own a lot of things~" Urahara smiled mysteriously. "And it was my idea to put Aizen and a Momo ghost in there. Oh and also the water at the end. Brilliant right?"

Yeah, and now I'm plotting some brilliant revenge to make you feel some brilliant sadness.

* * *

I was sitting on a bench next to Ichigo. We had gone on so many rides that I can't even remember most of the names. I'll definitely remember the rollercoaster ride, though. It's pretty hard to forget epic rides that just give you adrenaline rushes like that. We'd played a few games and won some prizes. The last one I'd played was the kind where you have to knock over cups with a ball. I knocked over all three in one go. As a prize for that, I chose a huge stuffed panda bear. It's _not_ for me. It's for Momo. I mean, what would I do with a huge plushie anyway?

Ichigo was currently stuffing his face with cotton-candy. I didn't think he liked sweet things. But then, even _I _like some sweet things, and I don't think I seem like the type who'd like sweet stuff. I must've been staring at him because after a while he chuckled. "If you want some you could've just asked for it, you know?"

"I don't…" I started, but then stopped. "Actually… Give me some of that."

Ichigo tore off a bit of cotton-candy and held it out. "Hurry up, it melts."

I grabbed the pink fluff and popped it into my mouth. Almost immediately, it melted and lost its fuzzy form. And it was really sweet. I kind of liked the stuff. "…Can I have some more?"

Ichigo laughed and gave me another bit of the fluffy goodness. He glanced at the panda in my arms, and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think you were one for stuffed animals."

I rolled my eyes. "It's for Momo."

"Making a move, eh?" Ichigo chuckled.

I felt an unfamiliar rush of heat in my face. "What? No. We're just _friends_." I sighed. "Sugar has bad effects on you."

"Nope, not really," Ichigo grinned at me, as if he knew something I didn't know.

* * *

"Ehhh, taichou, you like stuffed animals?" Matsumoto stared at the panda plushie in my arms. "You try to act all mature and stuff, but in reality, you're actually a child deep in your heart. Deep, deep down-"

"It's not for me." I growled at her. I looked to Momo who had just arrived with Rukia. "It's for you." I said, handing the plushie to Momo.

She looked surprised, but grinned at me and pulled me into a hug. "Thanks! It's so cute!"

"Y-you're welcome," I felt blood rising to my face. That's weird. Why does it keep happening to me? I saw Matsumoto wink at me, and I tried (unsuccessfully) to glare.

Momo let go and beamed happily, cuddling the panda to her chest. Then she frowned. "Your face is red. Are you having a fever or something?"

"No…it's uh…just…very hot today…," I shrugged. "I don't like hot weather."

"Why are you and Kurosaki-kun all wet?" She asked curiously, and the others were suddenly staring at me for answers.

"Momo, don't worry about us," Ichigo said lazily. "We just went on 'Evacuated Tunnel to Hell' and water got thrown onto us… Oh and you can just call me Ichigo, or else it sounds too formal."

Momo smiled brightly at him. "Sure."

"Ok people, we need to get back to my house soon." Ichigo said, looking at his watch.

* * *

"Come on taichouuu… you have to play!"

We were currently in the living room after dinner, looking for something fun to do. I shook my head at Matsumoto. "You can't force me."

Matsumoto sighed. "But 'Just Dance 4' is awesome! You have to play!"

I purposely dropped the room's temperature. Matsumoto pouted. "You're such a meanie."

"Deal with it." I told her and walked upstairs. I decided to just look around the house and familiarize with it, since it's a lot different to when I last came here. I knew which bedrooms belonged to who, but there were a few extra doors here and there.

I walked to a particular door painted in black which had (for some reason) caught my attention. I opened the door and smiled. A time-out room. Just what I need.

Closing the door behind me, and looked around. The carpet was dark gray, and the walls were painted maroon. It looked as though the fairly large room had been divided into many parts.

There was a modern electric piano in one corner. You know, the type that can change its 'voice' to almost any instrument. They're cool. There was also an acoustic guitar, a set of drums and a microphone connected to a speaker. In a different corner, there were a few bean-bags and a bookshelf. An air-conditioner was fixed into the wall above that area, and a large window was in between the book-shelf corner and the music-instruments corner. A ping-pong table took up the space in the centre of the room. In _another_ corner, there was a large table with many different art supplies (brushes, paints, pencils, felt-pens, paper…and a bunch of other stuff) spread out neatly on it. The last corner of the room was occupied by a mini-fridge. In between the art-table-thing-whatever-you-wanna-call-it and the mini-fridge, there was a large flat-screen TV, a cream-coloured couch in front of it, and a big furry purple rug on the floor between the couch and the TV.

Once again, I smiled to myself. Now _this_ was the greatest room in the entire house. But I'd have to wait for another day to come here. Right now, I'm just going to go into my room and pretend to act sleepy and tired, so that I don't get sucked into a game of 'Just Dance 4' by a certain strawberry-blonde lieutenant….

* * *

**Bleghh that was such a suck-ish ending, don't you think? I'm sorry if I took long to update…but on the bright side, I made this chapter longer than the other two (^.^) … even if it was kind of pointless and boring (-.-") . Sorry if there's any mistakes or anything…it's kinda late here, and I'm tired so I couldn't be bothered to re-read this even twice. Also, sorry to those who were expecting more HitsuHina stuff in this chapter, I think this was more about Toushiro and Ichigo's relationship. Lol. Sooooo anyway... It'd mean the world to me if you could press the really pretty review button below :D Bye~**


	4. School

**So here's another chapter done! :D Sorry, if I took a while to update, I'll take even longer when school starts… just warning you. Hmm, I'm sorry if this is kind of short… I'm not exactly sure how much I wrote o.o.  
Thanks to **icemaster29, Floodlight-Zhou, Lulu22Temmy, Vicky-chan16, Black-Wolf-2631, saxophone, TheFayrinaTale, SoulreaperRukia1, Lennox Case and Captain Franu **for your reviews on my previous chapters :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, Tite Kubo does (I seriously thank him for creating it!)**

* * *

I lay down in the top bunk bed of what is going to be my room from now on, trying to hold in groans of pain. Yeah, I got the _top_bunk… jealous? I bet you are. Well, I'm not going to give it up to anyone because I went through _so_ much just to get it.

* * *

_-Flashback-_

_"Oh cool, the bunk-bed's been set up!" Ichigo smiled as we entered the room. We both looked at each other, thinking the same thing._

_"I call dibs on the top bunk!" We yelled simultaneously._

_"You can't call dibs on it 'cause I already _did_!" Ichigo crossed his arms._

_No way. I'm getting the top bunk. I don't why I suddenly want to have my way, but _I'm_ getting the top bunk. I guess I'm not as mature as I try to act like. "We called dibs at the same time." I put my hands on my hips and stared up at his face._

_Ichigo smiled and patted my head. "Toushiro, you need to respect your Nii-san."_

_NII-SAN?! "What the hell? You're not my brother."_

_"I am for the time being." Ichigo ruffled my hair. "You have such nice hair Ototo-chan!"_

_I smacked his arm away from my head. "Well, _Ototo-chan_ wants the top bunk." I glared at my 'Nii-san'. Hell no, he's just Ichigo._

_"Well," Ichigo said, mocking my tone. "Tell him that he can't have it. I get to have it, because I'm older."_

_"I get to have it because I'm… younger and awesomer!" What did I just say?_

_Ichigo laughed. "You just admitted you're younger! And 'awesomer' is not a word."_

_"Well I might be younger, but I'm definitely stronger." Oh my gosh, what am I doing?_

_"Are you trying to pick a fight?" Ichigo raised his eyebrows._

_"Are you dumb enough to ask?" I shot back. I have no idea what I'm doing. I will _never_ eat sugar ever again…_

_"Well, let's see shall we?" Ichigo smirked. He threw a punch at me, but of course I easily dodged it, leaving him with his back to me. I kicked his thigh and he stumbled forward, but regained his balance quickly. He turned to face me. "Oh you are going to pay for that!"_

_I grabbed a pillow from the bottom bunk and threw it at him._

_"Yep, I will pay. In punches." I smirked at him and punched at his stomach, but he blocked it with his hand and grabbed my fist, pulling me forward into a headlock. I pushed and struggled but I couldn't break free. Oh, the disadvantages to being smaller in size…_

_The door opened and Abarai poked his head in. "Oi, Ichigo, can I borrow that magazine with the cool sungla- What on Earth are you guys doing?"_

_"The top bunk is mine!" I growled and pushed Ichigo's head quite feebly due my position. I mean like, hel-lo? I'm caught in a headlock at the moment so things are a bit… complicated._

_"Oh noohooo it's not," Ichigo said, struggling to keep me in the headlock. Yeah, he may be strong, but _I'm _a captain. "Damn it Toushiro!"_

_I heard Abarai mutter a quiet "I'll come back later", and the door closed._

_I broke free of Ichigo's hold and slapped his arm, causing him to wince slightly. I smirked triumphantly, but was quickly pinned to the ground by a strong arm. I looked up to see Ichigo smiling evilly. It kind of creeped me out a little. Even so, I still managed to speak in a clam voice. "What are you going to do?"_

_"I'm going to teach you a lesson," Ichigo grinned. "Never _ever_ mess with me."_

_Ichigo's free hand came up to my stomach and he wriggled his fingers. I suppressed a laugh. He knows a lot of things about me. Including my ticklish spots. Ichigo poked my side and tickled me again. I giggled. Yes, I am capable of giggling._

_Ichigp smirked at me and tickled me harder, and my laughs became harder too. My attempts to get away from him were getting weaker. Ichigo tickled me again and, while I was in my helpless state of unstoppable giggling, moved his other hand to tickle me behind my neck. I laughed louder. Gosh, I hate him. My stomach is aching now and I don't have much energy left._

_"P-please sto-ahahahaha-stop it!" I said and pulled hard on a fistful of his orange hair, causing him to yelp and stop tickling me._

_"What the heck?" He looked at me, annoyed. I took that moment to jump up and push him over. I sat on his stomach. "I'll do it again," I threatened._

_Ichigo frowned at me, but then his eyes softened and he laughed. "We're fighting over a bed. I feel like a five-year-old…"_

_I looked away from his face, feeling kind of ashamed. "Y-yeah. Sorry."_

_"Sorry?" Ichigo asked. "For what? I haven't laughed like that in ages!"_

_Neither have I. I smiled. "Hey."_

_"What?" Ichigo asked, concerned. Don't be concerned you stupid idiot._

_"I'm still getting the top bunk." I announced._

_Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Fine. Now get off."_

_"Thanks." I grinned and got off him. I climbed up on to _my_ bed. "You are really easy to convince."_

_"Goodnight _Ototo-chan_."_

_"Shut up!"_

_-End of Flashback-_

* * *

Ahh, brotherly love. At least I got the top bunk. But my stomach still aches from laughing so much. And people say that the more you laugh the longer you live. Heh. I think it kills you faster.

"Ne, Ototo-chan?"

I felt an anime vein pop up on my forehead. "Shut up you-"

I heard muffled laughter from the bunk below mine. I leaned over the edge and glared at Ichigo, who stopped. I lay back down on my bed, satisfied. "Ok, ok I'm sorry. Toushiro?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You'll be going to my school, my class."

"What?" I asked. "But you're like….16."

"So?" Ichigo asked obliviously.

"_So_, that means that I'll be 2 years younger than everyone else in my class!" I said, throwing my hands up into the air, even though he probably can't see me.

"Does that bother you?"

"Do you know how hard it is to run a Division when the Captain is probably the youngest person in it?" I sighed.

"But you won't be running a Division, dummy. You'll be going to school." Ichigo pointed out.

"That's not the point!" I yelled. Then I calmed down. "I mean, I'm always surrounded my people who are older than I am… Sometimes, people from my own division treat me like a kid. And they _know_ I'm a captain. So imagine what it'd be like in a school full of arrogant high-schoolers. Not that _you_ are arrogant. You're awesome."

I can imagine a smile on Ichigo's face. "Thanks, it's about time someone noticed my awesomeness. I don't think we can get you out of my school though. I spoke to the principal when I enrolled you. He seemed pretty hyped about having a prodigy in _his_ school."

"Oh great, now I looked like I'm being favoured. Just great." I sighed.

"And," I heard an amused giggle. "It was a lot easier this time to get you a uniform that fits."

I scoffed. "I have grown a _lot _taller."

"You're still a midget compared to most guys your age."

"Don't be surprised if you wake up as an ice-cube tomorrow." I said. "When does school start anyway?"

"Well, today's Sunday. So it starts tomorrow."

I groaned. What? I'm not mentally prepared for that.

"Hey at least you'll be in the same class as the rest of us."

"You guys are annoying." I stated bluntly.

"Except me right?" Ichigo asked jokingly. "Because I remember you calling me awesome."

"Well I changed my mind now. You're all annoying." I replied.

"Even Momo?"

"Um… yeah." She _is_ annoying. She calls me weird nicknames and makes my heart beat so fast that I'm surprised I haven't had a heart attack yet. I still haven't figured out why my heartbeat accelerates so suddenly like that… Maybe I'm sick or something.

"You hesitated to admit that Momo's annoying." Ichigo laughed.

"She's not _as_ annoying as the rest of you guys. But she's still annoying." I said.

"Are you suuuuure?" Ichigo asked teasingly.

I snapped. "What's it with you people teasing me whenever you talk about _Momo_? It is so freaking ANNOYING! Why don't you all go and bother someone else, for a change? But no, it just has to be me!"

I got no reply from Ichigo. What if I upset him? I didn't mean to. I just… got a bit… angry. I heard a sigh from Ichigo. "Let's get some sleep." He switched off the light.

I sighed. "…. Sorry."

I heard a faint chuckle. "Don't worry about it."

* * *

"Ne, ne, Shiro-chan?" Momo asked, as we walked to school that morning.

"Don't call me Shiro-chan, Momo. Toushiro is just fine." Gawd, this girl is annoying.

Momo smiled at me. "Yeah, _Toushiro_ is a lot nicer than _Hitsugaya-taichou_."

I blushed. "W-well…what were you going to say before?"

"Oh yeah," Momo twirled around, causing her skirt to flutter. "How do I look?"

I'm not trying to be a perv or anything, but Momo really shouldn't twirl around in a skirt as short as that. "You look… like Momo in a school uniform." Yes, that was just brilliant, Toushiro.

She playfully punched my shoulder. "Mou, Shi- uhh- Toushiro. Say something nicer."

"You look nice?" I tried.

"Say it with some meaning…" Momo pouted at me.

"You look really… oh come on, Momo, it's a school uniform! How can a uniform look good a person?" I rolled my eyes.

"But Rangiku-san has gotten a lot of compliments…" Momo murmured.

I scoffed. "Because she's _Matsumoto_! She's beautiful no matter what she wears. Besides, have you _seen_ how much of her shirt is actually buttoned up properly?"

I didn't get any response from Momo. Then I realised what I'd just said. I felt horrible. I put a hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean that you're ugly, Momo. You're definitely not ugly."

Momo looked to me and smiled softly. "Thank you Shiro-chan."

"But I think the reason Matsumoto's getting so much attention is because _most_ boys are pervs. So...yeah, that explains a lot." I said. I looked at Momo, who was looking at me with raised eyebrows. "Don't worry, I'm not one of them."

"I know that, Shiro-chan!" Momo giggled. She's so cute when she giggles like tha- What am I _thinking_?! Ok, let's get this straight. Toushiro Hitsugaya, you don't think that Momo, your childhood _friend_, is cute or _anything_ like that. She's just a _friend_. Just a friend!

After I finished debating with myself, I looked up to see Momo staring worriedly at me. "Are you okay, Shiro-chan? You're face is all red." She put a hand on my cheek, causing it to heat up even more. I don't understand this. Does this happen to most people? "And your face is warm…"

"Um- well…" I racked my brains for a good excuse, as Momo stared intently at me to go on.

We were just staring into each other's eyes in silence, until _someone_ decided to rudely barge in by saying "Ahh Taichou and Momo are finally lovebirds!"

I was about to have a moment with Momo! Matsumoto, you ruined it! Errr…wait. I don't need a _moment_ with her… Because people only want _moments_ like those if they like someone. I don't like anyone. I glared at Matsumoto. "We're not lovebirds! We're not even dating, you stupid baka."

Matsumoto grinned mischievously. "But you want to, right?"

I saw Momo blush slightly. Rolling my eyes, I turned back to my annoying lieutenant. "Go and find someone else to bother."

Matsumoto place her hands on her hips and pouted. "Taichou, you're no fun! But I guess I should be used to that by now…" She stomped away huffily.

I shook my head and sighed. "I don't know how I put up with her…"

* * *

I didn't like all the attention we were getting as we walked through the hallways. It was… disturbing. However, that _nothing_ compared to the reactions we got when we entered the _classroom_.

Girls squealed at me and my "cuteness", and they squealed even more when _Ichigo_ told them that I was 14. If it weren't for the fact that they did not know who I was, I would have froze their lips so they couldn't speak. More than half of the boys in the class gaped at Matsumoto's boobs, which was disgusting, to say the least. Some guys commented on Abarai's hair and tattoos, saying that he must be part of some street gang. Ayasegawa was _immediately _asked if he was gay, and I'll admit, I was kind of curious to know too. Some poor kid guy called Madarame bald, and his death-chase began. Ok, so the last one was kinda of funny.

Rukia and Momo were probably the only ones who got a normal greeting.

* * *

During lunch, I sat under a tree with Ichigo, my fellow (annoying) Shinigami, and a few of Ichigo's friends. I remember them because they once came to Soul Society to save Rukia from an execution (it's a long story). They all had unique powers.

Orihime Inoue is a hyper active girl with long auburn hair, big shiny gray eyes and… and uhh… a very Matsumoto-like figure. And before you say anything, I'm not trying to be perverted! She wears these flower-shaped hair-pins that can turn into these spirits that look like pixies (honestly, I'm not sure what they are.)

Sado Yasutora is enormous and has tanned skin and wavy brown hair. I wonder if he's like… part Mexican or something… Anyway, Ichigo calls him Chad because he thinks its cooler. He has super human strength and his arm turns really cool and epic when he's fighting… I can't really describe it though. But even without his powers, I still think he'd be inhumanly tough.

Uryu Ishida is a studious boy with dark bluish-black hair and glasses. He is also a Quincy, so he isn't exactly human, and this means he's got a thing against Shinigami. Don't ask me how he and Ichigo became friends, because that is beyond my knowledge.

Well, anyway, we (as in, everyone _but_ me) were in a fierce argument over whether a frying pan can be used as a weapon. Now do you see why I just chose to sit and watch? It's actually quite entertaining. But if my opinion was actually needed, I'd say yes to frying pans. Because once, Momo _made_ (let me repeat _made_) me watch this animated film called "Tangled", which was about a girl called Rapunzel who had ridiculously long hair and whatever... But there's this guy called Flynn Rider in it, and when he first climbed into Ranpunzel's tower (yeah, she lives in a tower), he was hit on his head by a frying pan. And he was knocked out. Also, I remember that while Rapunzel and Flynn (who later revealed his name to be Eugene) were on their way to… somewhere, they kept getting followed by these Royal Guards (Eugene was a criminal, and that was the only interesting bit) and by other criminals (there was a reward for whoever hands him into the Guards). And guess what they used to defend themselves? Rapunzel's frying pan. They survived because of a freaking FRYING PAN!

All was going great (well, as great as an argument about _frying pans_ can get) until Matsumoto tried to share her lunch with the rest of us.

"But you guuuys!" Matsumoto whined. "I made this almond-olive-mustard-peanut butter sandwich especially for you all! See, I even put bits of chocolate into it! You _must_ eat!"

Abarai's face turned a pale shade of green, and he frantically shook his head. So did almost everyone else. Matsumoto pouted. She turned to me. "…. Taichou?"

I just gave her my usual emotionless face. She had the saddest face I had ever seen. Thankfully, Inoue likes Matsumoto's taste in food, so she quickly said "I'll eat it, Rangiku-san!~"

That girl is a life saver. We all owe her one. I'll do anything _but_ eat her food. No offence to her, I know she's a wonderful person and stuff, but her cooking sucks…

* * *

At the end of our last class, I finished packing up my stuff and I looked up to ask Momo whether she'd like to walk home with me. There's no special reason for that! I mean, we live in the same house, so it'll be easier. Yes, I'll walk her home for that reason.

But I looked to her seat, which was next to Matsumoto's (oh, how unfortunate), and Momo was talking to a guy with light purple hair and gray eyes. I think his name was… Hmm, I can't remember…

"Ryo Hayashi," said a voice next to me.

I looked up to see Ichigo. "What?"

"His name is Ryo Hayashi." Ichigo said, shrugging. "And don't say you weren't wondering. I know you really well."

I looked back at the two of them, and then at the ground. "Whatever."

Both of us just stayed in silence for a while, until Momo came bouncing up to us. "Guess what, Shiro-chan? I made a new friend. Hey shouldn't we be going home by now?"

Ichigo nodded and we walked out of the classroom, and Momo waved shyly to that Ryo guy. I don't know why, but it just ticked me off. On the way home, I didn't feel like talking, and neither did Ichigo. So it was Momo doing all the talking.

"Ne, Shiro-chan, Ichigo-san," she said chirpily. "His name is Ryo Hayashi, and he's really nice! He even offered to show me around Karakura one day. Isn't that so kind of him? Ryo-kun is really such a gentleman~"

I noticed the dreamy tone in her voice when she said 'Ryo-kun'. I only know one person that she has ever talked about like that. And it just makes me mad. It makes me angry, and I have no idea why! It was like Momo had met Aizen all over again!

* * *

**Ohh kay~ So that was the dear chapter that I took so long to finish. Hope you liked it (personally, I don't). I think my slow-updating will be even slower because my summer vacations are coming to an end (booo school!). So please review for this chappie, even though it sucks, because that's what motivates me to keep writing~**

**p.s. Part of the reason I took so long was because, in the middle of this chapter, I had this really cool idea for another fanfic, so I just had to start writing before I forgot the idea. I might post it soon, but I haven't exactly finished the first chapter. I could try to finish/post it tomorrow, but I have to pack my stuff cux we're going back to Australia before school starts, so I'll be quite busy. But I will TRY. Ok bye bye, it's two and a half hours past my bed-time… -.-**


	5. Pressure and Jealousy

**A/N= Hello all you fanfiction people :) I'm sorry I'm so late with this update, I have school and other stuff too, I hope you understand (hey, it is hard to balance fanfiction, school and my other stuff). And I won't be updating for a while, since I have midterms coming up next week. So..yeah.**

**Thanks to **Floodlight-Zhou, SoulreaperRukia1, Reader-Favs, Ruby-charm, Vicky-chan16, GoddessOfImagination and toshiluver123 **for reviewing on chapter 4 :)**

**Panda hugs to everyone who favourited and followed my story :3**

**By the way, I posted a chapter for a new story "Hidden in Plain Sight" check it out if you wanna.**

**Alright so anyway, on with the chapter. Sorry if you don't like it, school kills my creativity.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does (I own detergent :P)**

* * *

I wonder why they say that school is a place to learn, if almost everything else seems more important to the students. Really. Dating, friends, dating, popularity, dating, pranking, dating, gossip and dating are the kind of stuff people here worry about.

….. I feel like I said the word 'dating' a tad too much.

During recess today, I kind of ditched the rest of the group because I was stressed out by that Ryo guy getting too close to- I mean, by the amount of homework that the teachers were giving us every day. Because that puts pressure on you, right….? Anyway, I didn't go to our usual spot under the big tree. I went to the roof of the school instead, to clear up my mind a bit.

I just sort of leaned against the walls and thought about all the stuff that's been pressuring me so much. Ok sure, I might be a bit… _wary_ about Ryo Hatashi-Hiyoshi-Hayashi-whatever-his-name-was. So what? I'm just looking out for Momo, who's practically my sister. I don't really trust that guy who she's so dang obsessed with.

If I were her, I wouldn't have even talked to him in the first place. Heck, I wouldn't even have _looked_ at him. Because he's stupid.… Duh?

"I smell jealousy~"

I looked up and frowned. "Go away Matsumoto."

"Ah, Taichou, that's not nice," she shook her head. "And you say that I need to learn respect."

YOU DO! When a person (example, _me_) is in a bad mood, the _respectful _thing to do is get out of their face before you get punched. Or in my case, before I make an ice-block fall straight from the sky onto Matsumoto's head.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," Matsumoto replied. I can't see even the slightest hint of mischief in her eyes.

"….Ok," I said, staring at my shoes. Why can't school shoes be awesome like all my sneakers?

"They aren't going out yet," Matsumoto suddenly chirped. "You still have a chance."

"….What?" I quizzically looked at her. Hey, we geniuses have our blank-moments too. Don't judge me.

She let out a girlish giggle. "You perfectly well know what I'm talking about, _Taichou._"

No I do not. I'm serious.

It took a while for this to go through Matsumoto's blonde head into her brain. That is, if she actually has one. "You can't be serious?!"

"What are you getting at?" I asked her, curiously.

I watched as my lieutenant's slender hand went up to face-palm her forehead. "Taichouuu!"

I really need someone to get us onto the same page. "What?"

"You still have a chance with MOMO-CHAN!" Matsumoto shouted into my ear.

"HEY!" I yelled back at her with just as much strength in my voice. "Don't you dare scream into my ear! And I am not interested in Momo like that." Right?

"Taichou, Taichou, Taichou," Matsumoto shook her head like I was some naïve kid, and patted my head. "Poor, clueless Taichou. Innocent, ignorant Taichou… He doesn't know that he is deeply in love with his best friend Momo-chan…"

I felt my eyebrows twitch. And I think the sun is shining on me, because the atmosphere is suddenly way too hot. "No I'm not."

"Aww, you're so cute, you're denying it! Well, you're not really convincing me," she squealed. "Especially not with _that_ blush on your adorable little cheeks~"

"MATSUMOTO!"

That was probably heard by the entire school. Well, at least it's the end of the week. Let's look at this optimistically….

….I can't wait for this pathetic day to end.

* * *

I made it back to class just in time, and slipped into my seat. I could see Momo and Ryo glancing at each other occasionally, Momo often smiling sweetly and Ryo returning it with smile of his own. Oh how I wish that I could bore lasers into that guy's head.

As the teacher turned around and wrote something on the board, something flew past my ear and landed right next to my hand. A piece of folded up paper. Also known as, a note. The best form of secret communication in high school. After text-messages, that is. And yes, guys like to pass notes too.

I looked behind me, at my orange-haired friend.

"Why?" I whispered.

"Mr. Hitsugaya, I understand that you are a new student, but that does not give you permission to talk in my class!"

I turned around to face an irritated teacher. "Sorry Sensei…." The note was hidden safely, scrunched in my fist. Being caught when you are note-passing is worse than being caught talking, according to Ichigo.

"You better be," she said firmly, pushing her glasses a bit higher on her nose. She turned back to the board and I turned around to Ichigo. _Open it_, he mouthed.

I rolled my eyes, and unfolded the small paper.

_Y do u look like ur gonna kill Hayashi-kun? _–Ichigo.

I sighed, and wrote a reply, and passed it back from under the bottom of Ichigo's desk.

_I'm not. Ur hallucinating. _–Toushiro.

It soon bounced back next to my hand.

_R u sure? Or maybe u just can't stand the thought of him and Momo being a couple. _–Ichigo.

I scoffed almost inaudibly. That is stupid.

_They r not even going out. _–Toushiro.

_Oh really? U should've seen them at lunch. Flirting like 2 happy lovebirds. _–Ichigo.

Lovebirds? No way! That's what Matsumoto calls Momo and me. Me. Not Ryo Hayashi. ME. Wait, Momo had lunch with him…?

_At lunch…? They had lunch together? Without the rest you idiots?_ –Toushiro.

_Yeah. HEY. We r NOT idiots. Where were u at lunch? _–Ichigo.

Oh, just on the roof. You know, wishing that I could just throw Ryo Hayashi into Heuco Mundo to starve. You know, the usual.

_On the roof, thinking about….stuff. _–Toushiro.

_….Ooooh _–Ichigo.

_What?_ –Toushiro.

_….. ;3 _–Ichigo.

What the heck? What is he, a girl?

_Seriously..? What's with that face?_–Toushiro.

I got no reply from him for a while. I was wondering what was taking so long when I realised that everyone was packing up their stuff. Oh, right. We finish 10 minutes earlier on Fridays. Even the teachers like the idea of an early weekend. So everyone's happy.

I was getting up from my seat, and Ichigo went past my desk, carefully dropping the note on my table. I opened it up.

_UR SO JEALOUS~ :3 _–Ichigo.

* * *

"Finally," I sighed, flopping onto my bed, Momo sitting next to me.

"Ne, Shiro-chan, how was your day?" Momo asked with a smile.

"Like you care…" I muttered.

Momo cocked her head to the side. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"It was, uh, great," I lied. "And don't call me Shiro-chan." There is no way I'm going to tell her that I feel like smashing Ryo to bits. Because I have no valid reason as to why I dislike him so much. I mean, haven't you heard of the quote '_Meeting someone for the first time, and instantly hating them for reasons you can't explain'_?

"That's great, Shiro-chan!" Momo said enthusiastically.

"Bed-wetter. Stop it." I said as calmly as possible.

Momo giggled cutely. I mean…uhm… happily. "Ok, Shi-umm-Toushiro."

"Soooo," I said, trying to keep the conversation going. "How was _your_ day?"

Yeah, your day with Ryo-_kun_.

Momo's eyes shone like Christmas lights. "Oh it was just wonderful!" she gushed. "I really enjoyed the English lesson where we had to write a description of another student in our class, that we made friends with."

Oh yeah, I remember that. I wrote about Rukia. Hey, the teacher doesn't know that we've known each other before I even came here. What he doesn't know won't harm me.

"Who did you write about?" I asked, faking eagerness. I have a good guess on who it might have been. I hope I'm wrong.

Momo smiled, her eyes shining and her hair framing her face. She looks like a pixie… "Ryo-kun!"

I was right. I was so undeniably right. "O-oh."

"I had lunch with him today, Shiro-chan. It was really fun!" Momo gave me another one of her gorgeous smiles. "He's a great person! He's so sweet and kind and friendly. He's also kind of…"

Kind of what? I held my breath. "Kind of…?"

"….K-kind of h-handsome…" Momo blushed a bit after stuttering those three words.

…..No he's not. I don't think he is.

"S-so, Shiro-chan," Momo asked, trying to return her red-tinged face to normal. "Who did you write about?"

"…Rukia," I said, looking down. No, I'm not embarrassed about choosing Rukia as the subject of my writing. I just feel that if I look at Momo, I'm going to have an emotional breakdown. I don't even know why.

I heard a giggle. A soft, sweet giggle that sounded almost like tinkling of bells. Maybe Momo really is a pixie….?

"What?" I asked, pulling at a loose thread on the end of my T-shirt. No, I'm not in my school uniform (who even wears that after _school_ anyway?).

Once again, my answer was Momo's melodic laugh.

"….Seriously Momo, answer me. What's so funny?"

"Well," Momo said. "I was just thinking that you and Rukia-chan would make a really good couple."

Ohhh.

Wait WHAT?!

This time, I just had to look her straight in the eye. "You've got to be kidding me."

Momo smiled at me sweetly, and I swear my heart melted and froze back together again.

"No, I'm not," Momo said with a cheery laugh. "You guys would look so cute together. I mean, you're almost a head taller than her now. And imagine when you guys hug, Rukia-chan can just bury her head into your chest like all those adorable couples in the Shoujo animes."

Well what about YOU and me hugging instead? How about YOU burying your face in my chest? Wait what the heck am I thinking?!

I looked away from Momo's face. "But I don't like her that way."

Momo's musical giggle escaped her lips. "Well. You might not be interested in a girl yet, but I'm interested in a boy…."

Who is it? Is it….me? Once again, what am I thinking?!

I raised my eyebrows, unable to speak in fear of letting something stupid slip out of my mouth.

Momo grinned at me. My mind feels fuzzy. "Ryo-kun asked me to go out on a date with him."

If I was drinking water, it would be all over Momo now. "W-when?" I choked out.

"Oh, you know," Momo said dreamily. "While we were eating lunch together in schoo-"

"No no no," I said hurriedly. "Not that. I mean, when is your date with…um…him?"

Momo blushed. "Tomorrow. We're going to the mall. It's gonna be so much FUN!"

Oh wow Ryo. What a creative idea for a first date…. Not.

I fake smiled at Momo. "Have fun. Now, um…I need to go..and…um…feed my..um…unicorn..."

Oh good one, Toushiro. Since when did I have a pet _unicorn_?

Momo replied with a giggle. "You know, it would've been easier to just ask me to leave, Shiro-chan."

I know. But I want you to stay. With me.

* * *

"Tee hee."

That was the fifth time Momo giggled at dinner, not that I was counting or anything.

Matsumoto banged her fist on the table. "Ok, enough! Momo, what's up? You're giggling more than usual, so something_ is_ up."

Momo looked at me. And then at Matsumoto. "Tee hee~"

Matsumoto eyed me like a hawk. "Taichou?"

I breathed in quietly. Then, I put on a calm face. "….Momo has a date."

Everyone at the table stared at me, open mouthed.

Madarame grinned manically at me. "Well done kid! You asked her out!"

NOOO! Shut up you baldy! Shut up now!

Momo looked at me curiously. "What is he talking about Shiro-chan?"

"Well, how else can Taichou know about the date if _he _wasn't the one to ask you out?" Matsumoto asked quickly. She shot me a look with her eyes saying '_you're welcome'_.

"Because," I said, playing along with it. "…I'm her best friend and she tells me everything?"

Ichigo suddenly spoke up. "So who's your date?"

Momo grinned like a kid who just found a pile of unsupervised candy. "RYO-KUN! He is the handsomest, sweetest gentleman I have ever met!"

Once again, whole table is looking at me.

I stared at my empty plate. And I felt a lump in my throat. That is never a good sign. "Uhh, you know, I'll be going to bed now…"

I got up and when I was out of sight from the others, I bolted up stairs and into my room, jumped onto my bed, and yelled into the pillow. You know, for stress relief.

I'm not fooling anyone, am I? I'm mad over the fact that Momo and Ryo are going out. I don't understand why….

* * *

After laying on my bed for about an hour, I might have figured out why I am so irritated about Momo and Ryo being a couple. It is _just _a guess. But it can't be…..

I heard the door creak open. "Toushiro?"

"Go away…." I groaned. "I need some alone time…"

Ichigo sighed. "I've given you an hour, Toushiro. Why is it that you are suddenly acting like a little kid?"

Control your reiastu. Control it! Dang it, he didn't mean that, calm down! Compose yourself and think of a witty comeback! Wait, do I always talk to myself in my head?

"M-maybe your bratty behaviour is rubbing off on me." I said, my words faintly muffled because my face was in my pillow.

Ichigo laughed, and I felt a 'thump' on my bed, next to my feet. Oh great, he's on my bed now.

"Toushiro."

I sighed, and stayed still in my position.

"Toushiro."

This time it is a bit louder, but I still haven't completed my 2 hours of Gloom.

I felt someone's warm breath next to my ear.

Hold on. Warm breath….? My ear?!

"TOUSHIRO!"

"What?!" I yelled, my head snapping up. I saw the face of a smiling demon with orange hair.

"Good," Ichigo said. "Er…. How are you?"

I sat up and eyed him skeptically. "Discombobulated."

"Oh ok…," Ichigo said thoughtfully. "Wait, dis-what-lated?"

I stared at him. "Spit it out. Whatever you're trying to say."

Ichigo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. The looked me straight in my eyes. "Admit it already. You like her."

I felt that odd heating-up sensation on my face. "H-her? Her who?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Toushiro," Ichigo said, agitatedly.

I looked down, and pulled at my t-shirt.

"Hey," I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked to my right, and Ichigo was gazing at me with….sympathy? "You know, you can talk to me, Toushiro."

I groaned. "Ok, fine. You want me to talk? I'll talk."

"Every single time someone says anything about Momo and Ryo being together, I just get this… weird feeling inside me. It's horrible, sort of like when you have a bad stomach ache and a brain-freeze at the same time, not that I've ever had a brain-freeze, it also kind of feels like it's your heart that's freezing and not your brain, but I just hate it! And I just feel like I want to kill that purple-haired douche-face, with his stupid sparkly-smiling and his stupid perfect hair and UGGHHH!"

"That's right! Let it all out!" Ichigo said encouragingly.

And I couldn't stop. The more I talked, the faster my words all poured out of my mouth.

"It makes me sick! It really does. And I'm so confused and everything, I mean, I don't know what's happening to me! Every time, I see Momo I just feel all….strange, and I can't think properly and I feel hot and sweaty and I….I don't know what to do about it, I don't even know what these feelings are! I think I'm going to go crazy one day if this keeps going on! What am I talking about? I already _am_ crazy! And Momo goes all freaking passionate and fan-girly over Ryo and I can't get mad at _him_ because then Momo will get upset and-"

"Hey!" Ichigo shook me by the shoulders, and forced me to stop my chattering mouth. "Shhh. Ok, enough talking. Dang it, I didn't know you could be so talkative. You're normally so quiet and collected and stuff. I seriously wonder what goes through your head….."

Oh, you don't know just _what_ happens in there.

"Alright," Ichigo said slowly. "Do you know how you feel about Momo?"

What is this, therapy?

I raised an eyebrow. "Obviously."

Ichigo folded his arms across his chest and smirked. "Fine. Then what do you feel?"

"I feel…" I began. "…feelings."

Ichigo shook his head and sighed. "Toushiro! You have a crush on Momo. I thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius, how could you not have realised this? Gosh…"

"I-I-I w-what?" I stuttered. There's no way I could like Momo that way. I mean, she's my best friend….

"Admit it already!" Ichigo groaned.

Fine, I will!

"I….like….Momo….." I said, slowly.

"Good," Ichigo sighed exasperatedly.

I rolled my eyes at him. Stupid.

"One more thing," Ichigo's voice spoke up. "What is discoballoonated?"

"Discombobulated," I corrected him.

"Yeah, that. What is that?"

"Oh," I smiled tiredly. "It's just a really fancy way to say 'confused'."

"Hey," Ichigo said suddenly. "Why don't we go to the mall tomorrow? Let's do something fun, and cheer you up!"

I am tired of arguing with this guy. Sometimes, there is no way to win. "Fine."

Ichigo smirked mysteriously.

What the heck is he up to? Something no good, for sure….

* * *

**So that was chapter 5! Sorry if it wasn't so good. Please leave a review if you can be bothered to. Until next time! Which is...some time...**


	6. Spying and Sabotaging

**A/N= Hi! It's me again. You are now free to pelt me with comments about how long it's been since my last update... No don't do that. I was HEEECK BUSY! I'd actually half-written this a month ago. So sorry... ^.^"**

**But guess what, it's my 14th birthday (19th of June) and I was like "I haaave to update!". So I'm currently under the covers, writing this on mah laptop.**

**Thanks to **TheFayrinaTale, Reader-Favs, Shimmerbreeze, toshiluver123, Floodlight-Zhou, GoddessOfImagination, Vicky-chan16, The Chrysanthemum, IGSP **and **Vegetable lov3r **for reviewing. I love you guys 3 No kidding, that's mostly why I wanted to update.**

**Well, enjoy chapter 6! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, sadly... But I own this story! :)**

* * *

"Shiro-chan, does this look alright for a first date? Or is it too fancy?"

Momo asked me that for what seemed like the millionth time. I was in her room, sitting on Rukia's bed (which was way too over-decorated with Chappy, I might add).

Momo had called me into her room after breakfast because she wanted my opinion on what to wear for her date with Ryo (yes, I'm still upset about the date). Apparently, she wanted a "boy's opinion".

Normally, all this girly stuff about clothes would've bored me to death, but you can't really get bored by staring at a well-dressed Momo.

"Shiro-chan? Are you listening?" She waved her fingers in front of my face. "Which one is better? The blue or the red?"

She pointed to a dress that was on the top of the huge pile of clothes on her bed (who knew girls made such a mess when they fussed about clothes?). It was a pretty blue with white swirly designs on the material, and had ribbon around the waist area. But I didn't think it suited Momo. I shook my head. "Nope."

Then, she pointed to the clothes she had on at that moment, which was a white sleeveless blouse and a red skirt. She looked awfully cute in the thing, but no way am I letting her go near Ryo in something so attractive. No way.

I shook my head, and Momo huffed in frustration. "Then what _should_ I wear?"

Before I could answer, the door burst open, and Matsumoto came in with a lot of shopping bags.

"Momo-chan," she said happily handing one of the bags to Momo. "Go try this one on."

Momo nodded uncertainly, but headed towards the bathroom anyway.

Pretty soon, we heard her voice through the closed bathroom door. It sounded embarrassed. "R-rangiku-s-san? A-are you s-sure?"

I turned sharply to Matsumoto. "What was in that bag?"

She smiled. I knew that smile. A devilish smile that could mean anything _but_ good.

"What's wrong Momo-chan?" Rangiku called. "Come on and show us your outfit!"

The bathroom door opened and Momo hesitantly came out. She was wearing a… a… _what the heck was she wearing?!_

The dress was black, but that was the least of my worries. It was extremely short and the bodice was exceedingly tight. I mean, you could see… everything. Not that I was looking. Also, the back was bare, and almost half the dress was made out of fishnet. Oh, and that plunging neckline…

Why is my face heating up?! And _now _of all times!

"U-um…" I choked out, and looked away. "D-don't you think that's uh… sort of…"

"R-rangiku-san," Momo stammered. "Shiro-chan's face is going red. Is that bad?"

Well _yeah_, it's not like my face is naturally red!

Matsumoto smiled. "I'm not sure… Taichou, why's your face red?"

I glared at her. "I know what you're trying to do."

"What is she trying to do?" Momo looked at me with doe-like eyes.

Please, oh please, do not use those eyes to make me approve of that dress!

I cleared my throat. "She's trying to humiliate me by making you wear a provocative outfit."

Momo tilted her head. "And how does that humiliate you?"

Because you look hot and- no no, don't say that!

"Skimpy clothes are inappropriate, and I can only handle that to a certain extent. Matsumoto is poking some fun at the fact."

Momo raised an eyebrow. "That's not very nice."

Oh Momo, _Matsumoto_ isn't nice. When will you realise that?

"Oops~" My despicable lieutenant laughed, and handed Momo a different shopping bag. "That one should be more suitable."

As Momo headed for the bathroom (once again), Matsumoto sat down next to me and giggled. "You should've seen your face! It was priceless!"

Pissing me off, and then picking on me? This woman is shameless, I swear!

If only I had Hyourinmaru with me…. Oh, she'd feel my wrath.

I guess my face might have looked a bit intimidating, because Matsumoto stopped laughing.

"Hey," she smiled. "I was just messing with you."

"I know," I replied. "But it is really irritating when you try things like that."

"But on the bright-side, you got to see Momo in some super sexy get-up."

The temperature of the room became dangerously low.

"Sorry! I'm sorry, okay? I think I've annoyed you enough for a week. I promise I won't annoy you for the rest of the week," Matsumoto said, hugging herself to keep warm.

Okay, so maybe I was a bit harsh. I stopped my reiatsu from leaking, so that the room didn't turn into the world's biggest refrigerator.

"This week ends in two days, today included," I pointed out. "But… if you could go on for that long without humiliating, insulting or infuriating me, that would be quite an accomplishment. I'd like to see how that plays out."

"Mou, Taichou…" Matsumoto pouted. "Do you really think I'm so incapable?"

I thought it over. "…. Yep."

She smacked me playfully on the arm and grinned. I smirked up at her.

"So… how do I look now?" said a person who I didn't even know was in the room.

Very slowly, I turned my head towards Momo. She was wearing a dress that went down till mid-thigh, and a pair of black spotted stockings. The sleeves came down till her elbows, the bottom of the dress had lots of ruffles, and the outfit was not tight on her (fortunately). I think she looks cute… like a little doll (except Momo doesn't look plastic).

"… Hello? I need an opinion here," Momo laughed.

I mentally slapped myself for staring. I tried to cover up the awkwardness with a smile. "You look great."

"Aww, look at that! Taichou thinks you look-" Matsumoto shut up at once, when I shot her a glare. "Um… I mean… Momo! You can't go on a date like _that_! The outfit is not complete!"

It isn't? But… I think she looks pretty. Then again, I don't understand girls. They are like… a totally different side to our species.

I was hoping Momo would say something like 'Why not?' or 'Yes it is!', but instead, she nodded enthusiastically and said "No outfit is complete without accessories!"

Seriously? I sweat-dropped.

And, just like that, the two of them left the room in a blur.

"Shiro-chan! Come on!" Momo called from what I hope is not Matsumoto's room.

But of course, if anyone cared about what _I _hoped, Momo would be going on a date with me.

* * *

The doorbell rang, and Momo sharply turned, her ponytail whipping dangerously close to my face (I was sitting next to her on the couch).

"Ryo-kun!" she squeaked, her eyes showing excitement and a little bit of nervousness.

I rolled my eyes, got up, and tugged at her wrist. "Are you going to open the door, or do I have to drag you to it?"

And what did I get for purposely being rude to her on a seemingly important day?

Nothing.

No frowns. Or pouts. Not even a sigh.

Momo's dazed smile was enough for me to realise that she's completely in La-La Land with cotton candy clouds, heart shaped trees and probably an exaggeratedly handsome Ryo.

… Damn it.

La-La Land with an overly attractive Ryo is not good. Not good at all.

"Hehe, it's okay Shiro-chan, I'll do it myself," Momo literally bounced off the couch (dragging me along with her) and went to the door.

The door opened, and all that was in my view was Ryo… I think. I can't be too sure that this guy in jeans and a shirt isn't just some random purple-haired dude. He could be anyone, like maybe a burglar running away from the police or something…

Seriously, I need more proof that this guy is Ryo Hayashi. He is _way_ too good-looking to be that purple-haired crush-stealer.

"Hello Momo-chan." He grinned.

Okay… About him being good-looking to be Ryo, I take that back. I'm starting to see the resemblance.

And you know what? His smile wasn't that sparkly.

"Ryo-kun," Momo literally cooed.

I cleared my throat a little to inform them of my existence.

Ryo looked surprised when he saw me. "Hey, I know you."

Yeah, I'm pretty familiar with your name too, _Ryo_.

"Hitsugaya-san, right?"

I nodded.

He smiled and extended a hand. "Ryo Hayashi."

"I know, we're in the same class." _Unfortunately_.

"Please excuse him, he's always like that," Momo quickly said to Ryo, then turned to me. "Don't be so rude, Shiro-chan!"

"Keep calling me that, and I won't even _try_ to be nice," I retorted grimly. Then I had to hold in a wince when someone gripped my shoulder firmly. I looked behind me and saw Ichigo.

Just how long has he been there?

Ichigo smiled at Ryo (a very fake smile, I might add). "Don't worry; he's just in a mood today."

Ryo laughed in response. "It's alright, everyone has their days. I'm sure whatever's bothering you will be gone soon."

Yeah, and it'll take Momo along with it. "Sure it will…"

"Ahahaha, you people are too funny! C'mon Toushiro, let's go and cheer you up!" Ichigo frantically pulled me back with one hand, and nudged Momo forward with the other. "Bye Momo, have fun on your date!"

"But not too much fun!" I yelled as Ichigo kicked the door closed and let go of me.

I turned around to see a _very_ angry Ichigo with his arms crossed across his chest. "Toushiro, you can't just say whatever you're thinking like that!"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I just did."

He shook his head unapprovingly. "That's not what you do in this century when someone steals your crush."

"Really, now? Then what _ever_ am I supposed to do?"

I saw Ichigo hold back some sort of annoyed reaction. "Well, we could try a little something that I like to call 'sabotage'."

"_What?!_"

"You heard me."

"That is _not _a good idea, and besides, not many people in this town, or even this country, have white or orange hair," I said, trying to pry his fingers off my arm as he dragged me into Matsumoto's room. "Momo's bound to notice us if we go after them. Well, _me_ at least."

"That's why _I_ exist," said an absolutely eerie voice. The black chair in front of the desk spun around to reveal Matsumoto, her hands gripping every single kind of beauty product that they manufacture in this place. "With my knowledge and talents in make-up, I'll have your face unrecognisable in minutes."

As much as that sounded like a cheesy advertisement, I do not like where this is going.

* * *

I have no idea how, when, or why I agreed to do this.

"Ichigo, why are we doing this?"

I glanced at my orange-haired friend standing next to me, who shrugged. "Well, if we mess up Momo's date, she probably won't go out with Ryo again, which means that she'll officially be single, and so you will have the opportunity to ask her out or confess or something… according to Rangiku-san at least."

I frowned. "Quite spending so much time with my lieutenant; you'll become a male version of her."

Ichigo laughed. "Yeah, right… Be thankful that I didn't let her cake up your face with make-up."

"Yeah, but…" I looked at myself and back at him. "… _Why am I the only one with a disguise on?!_"

My hair was now black and very much tamed compared to before. And apparently, I would look like a total freak if my eyebrows and hair were totally opposite colours. So Matsumoto had somehow turned my eyebrows black with a sinister-looking little thing that she called 'An Eyebrow Pencil'.

"It was just luck. Dyeing your hair orange is the new trend," he grinned at me. "Besides, that black hair-dye isn't permanent, it washes out."

"But…_Why the contacts?!_" I almost yelled, pointing at my eyes, which were far from their original shade of emerald. They were now an amber colour.

"Shush! People will stare if you raise your voice so much," Ichigo said. "Besides, your eye colour is too unique, Momo would totally know it's you. You have to blend in as much as possible."

"BUT THEY ARE SO DARN ITCHY!"

"Shut up and stop being a brat; I see Momo and Ryo," Ichigo pointed.

I looked to the direction his finger was pointing at.

Momo and Ryo were walking together, goofy smiles on both of their faces. Momo's right hand clutched a bag that had some kind of fancy writing on it, so I'm guessing that Ryo bought her something.

In my opinion, he's going too fast with the whole thing.

… And okay, _maybe_ I'm a bit jealous. Maybe.

I frowned. "Okay, so do we trip them or something? What's the plan?"

I glanced side-ways at Ichigo, who was rubbing the back of his neck. "Well... ah… The plan is… that we um…"

I nearly face-walled. "_You don't have a plan?!_"

What kind of an idiot goes on a sabotage mission without a freaking plan?

"Ah, Ichigo-kun! Hello," Momo waved happily, approaching us.

Crap, what if she recognises me?

"Hi…," Ichigo said in a weak voice. "Nice date so far?"

Momo's eyes sparkled and she flashed him a gorgeous smile. "Yes! Ryo-kun even bought me this awesome dress!" She lifted up the shopping bag. "But he really didn't have to do that."

Ryo smiled and put an arm around her. "But it would really look gorgeous on you, so I had to get it for you."

I felt a pang of anger. How dare he kiss up to her? That's my job!

I would've literally pounced on to Ryo and yelled at him, but Ichigo had an iron grip on my shoulder.

"Ugh, do your lovey-dovey talk somewhere else…," he said, shaking his head.

Momo blushed and giggled. Then she raised her eyebrows with a curious look in her eyes. "Who's that?"

Ichigo's eyes widened slightly for a split-second, and then he patted my head.

… He is going to regret doing that.

"Oh him?" he laughed airily. "He's Hiroshi… he's a friend of Karin's that I'm helping out."

Well… I _am _friends with Karin, that's true.

Ryo looked at Ichigo in admiration… fake admiration I'll bet.

"What are you helping him out with?" he asked, flicking a strand of hair out of his eyes.

His stupid, purple doll-hair.

Yeah, he has doll-hair.

"Well?" he laughed.

"Soccer!"

"An essay!"

Ichigo and I exchanged looks, and I would've slapped my forehead, but of course then it would be obvious that something was wrong.

"… An essay… about soccer," I said meekly, trying to hide behind Ichigo.

"Y-yeah," Ichigo chimed in. "He has to do a project on it, and Karin thought I could help him out a bit. Since I used to play for the school team and stuff…"

Momo grinned and snapped her fingers. "I know the _perfect _person to help you out with that!"

"R-really?" I asked, not looking her in the eye.

I mean, what if she knows that I'm really me, and not some kid named Hiroshi?!

"Yeah," she went on. "Hitsugaya-kun is great at soccer, or so I've heard from Karin-chan. Apparently, he knows a lot of cool tricks too. Mind you, he can be a bit grouchy, but after you get to know him he's… pretty cool."

And then she just smiled at me like I was supposed to be totally oblivious to whatever she just said.

But… it was weird to hear her refer to me as 'Hitsugaya-kun'. I felt… important.

Wait, she also said…

OH. MY. GOSH.

Momo called me _cool_.

That's just… I feel so…

Damn it face, stop turning so red! And why am I breathing so quickly?!

My thoughts were interrupted when Momo chuckled.

"Well," she turned to Ryo. "We have a date to get to. Bye, Hiroshi-san, Ichigo-kun!"

Linking her arm with Ryo's, she happily walked away from us.

_With Ryo_.

I spun around to face Ichigo.

"We have got to sabotage this date!"

* * *

"Oooh, I'll take the vanilla-peach one!"

I watched Momo smile at her smoothie choice as Ryo looked through his wallet for money.

"We'll bring them to your table," the girl at the counter said. "Please go and take a seat."

As the 'couple' turned around to walk to their table, Ichigo took a straw from the counter, threw it at Momo, and dragged me behind the counter, both of us ducking behind it just in time.

"Ehhe, sorry…," the counter-girl said, sweat-dropping. "I can be a bit clumsy sometimes. Continue your day!~"

Wait, why's she sticking up for us?

Momo and Ryo shrugged and walked away as if nothing had happened.

The girl peered down at us with gorgeous blue eyes. Not as gorgeous as Momo's brown ones though.

"Sabotaging your life-long crush's date?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her tone.

Ichigo grinned. "Yep. Well, it's _his _crush actually." He gestured to me. "Aika, this is Toushiro, my friend and literally little brother. Toushiro, this is Aika, a friendly counter-girl who just so happens to be the match-maker of our school; she solves love problems. She's in a grade above us, so you wouldn't have met her yet."

I smiled up at her. She's really pretty, wavy auburn hair and all. But still… she doesn't beat Momo.

She furrowed her eyebrows, like she was thinking of something. Her eyes lit up. "I've got it!"

Ichigo looked surprised. "Already?"

Aika just smiled a very Matsumoto-ish smile. I'm starting to dislike her a bit… and at the same time, I'm looking forward to whatever genius plan she just concocted.

* * *

In a male waiter's suit, I carefully balanced a tray with two smoothies on them.

"Now remember," Aika told me clearly. "You have to spill it only on Momo."

I nodded, and took a deep breath.

Aika smiled. "Go get her, tiger."

I made my way over to their table, where they were busy chatting and flirting with each other.

Okay, I can do this! I can do-

"Oh, Hiroshi-san?" Momo looked at me. "You work here?"

"I owe the counter-girl a favour," I lied.

"What about your assignment?"

"I'm taking a break."

Ugh, it feels so wrong, lying to her like this.

Whatever, it's all for Momo…

I can totally do this.

I walked closer to the table, expertly tripped myself, the tray flew out of my hands and…

_SPLAT!_

… went all over Momo's dress.

I hurriedly got up, faked a horrified expression and gasped.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to… Gah, I'm so clumsy! I'm sor-"

"Don't worry about it," Momo smiled weakly. "I… need to go to the ladies' room."

She scampered off, and I glanced at Ryo. He shrugged.

"I'm very sorry…," I began.

"It's okay, Momo's an understanding girl. She won't be mad," He smiled.

He freaking _smiled_. After I literally ruined his date.

"I'll go get you guys more smoothies. Well, I'll make someone else bring them to you this time,' I said quietly, and made my way back to Aika and Ichigo.

Ichigo laughed. "Perfect!"

"… Actually, not perfect. Momo's okay with it, and so is _he_," I informed grimly.

Aika shrugged. "Well, sorry, I can't help. I gotta get back to work. Good luck Toushiro."

* * *

We were still stalking Momo and Ryo as they walked around in a park.

Ugh, I feel like such a creep.

They were laughing, holding hands, and having a good time until a bunch of kids threw a frisbee, and it hit Ryo in the shoulder.

Yay kids!

"Any moment now," Ichigo said, checking his watch.

I blinked. "For what?"

He smirked. "For that."

I looked towards Momo and Ryo's direction.

There was a stunningly attractive girl clinging on to Ryo's arm. She said something to him, which made Momo gasp. Then, the pretty red-head kissed him on the cheek and stroked his hair.

Momo was staring at them in shock.

"I paid her," Ichigo announced proudly.

Wow, Ichigo's actually kind of smart.

Ryo was frantically shaking his head and trying to blurt out an explanation, but the girl was trailing kisses down his jaw and on to his neck.

Dang it, Momo looks mad.

Ryo managed to un-cling the girl from him and shoo her away.

Hey! No, girl, come back!

Ryo looked at Momo, who had her back towards him. He said something, but Momo didn't reply.

I looked at Ichigo hopefully. He shrugged.

I saw Momo trying to walk away, but Ryo pulled her back.

HOW DARE HE TOUCH MOMO! I swear, when I go back to school on Monday, he's going to receive _extra _cold treatment.

Ryo said something again, and Momo smiled and nodded.

I think they just made up.

No… That's not supposed to happen!

I heard Ichigo sigh. "C'mon let's go talk to them."

Why?

I raised an eyebrow at him. He shook his head in response. "I dunno."

We walked towards them, and Ryo had a _very_ surprised look on his face.

"Well, look at that. We meet again."

I laughed (fake, if you were wondering). "Sorry about earlier…"

Momo shook her head and grinned, almost melting me. "It's okay. Stop apologising over and over, you remind me of Hitsugaya-kun."

I felt that familiar sense of importance again.

But I do miss being 'Shiro-chan', strangely.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Momo smiled. Then she frowned. "I bet if he knew where I am now, he'd be checking on my date to see if I'm alright. He's so over-protective. We'd be bumping into him every now and then, instead of you two."

I felt sweat building up on my forehead. "Y-yeah. Our meetings are just a coincidence…"

Momo laughed, her small frame shaking slightly.

"W-what?" I asked, getting even more nervous.

She smiled again, and I just wanted to hug her so badly. "Nothing. It's just, you even talk like Hitsugaya-kun."

"You kind of look like him too…," Her smile began to fade, her eyes widening in realisation.

Ryo looked concerned. "Is everything alright?"

I panicked, and tugged on Ichigo's arm. "I need to go now."

He seemed to notice the tension too. "Yeah, sure. Bye Momo, Ryo."

We spun on our heels, and walked away hurriedly, leaving behind a stunned Momo and a puzzled Ryo.

* * *

"Ugh!" I yelled, running into the bathroom.

I stripped off my clothes, went into the shower, and turned on the hot water. I needed to get rid of any evidence that I had ever been "Hiroshi".

I got rid of the black substance that was on my eyebrows. But it was pretty gross, I'll tell you that.

I quickly got out of the shower, and went to the bathroom mirror.

It was a lot of work, but I managed to get the coloured contacts out.

I threw them in the bin. Heck, I don't care if they were expensive, they've gotta go.

Changing into a different set of clothes, I looked at myself in the mirror. Something was not right.

What was it?

It's not my clothes, my eyebrows are fine, my eyes are their normal colour again, my hair…

… My hair is still black!

What the hell, Ichigo said it washes out!

"Toushiro, you done?"

Yes, I am, and you've got some explaining to do.

I opened up the door and Ichigo walked into the bathroom.

"Hey, your hair is still-"

"Black! I know! You said it washes out!" I yelled at him.

He looked indignantly at me. "It does! The bottle says so!"

I rummaged through the cabinet, and pulled out the little bottle that I hate so much right now.

"Where does it say that?" I asked, handing him the bottle and crossing my arms over my chest.

"Right here!" He said, reading the small print. "It says it washes out…"

"Well, it was lying!" I huffed.

"… after about eight washes," he finished.

"Eight washes?!" I screamed.

Throwing the bottle aside, Ichigo closed the door quickly, and pulled my shirt off.

"What the-"

"Get back in the shower!" He hissed.

"What? We're actually gonna do all _eight_ washes?" I asked, petrified.

'Cause this is not good you know!

"… Yeah, now get in there!" He shoved me in the shower.

I stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Toushiro?"

"DAMN IT, STUPID HAIR DYE!"

* * *

**A/N= Soo, how was it? Did it stink as much as I thought it did? Sorry for any mistakes, it's almost midnight but I'm trying to update so... My brain cells are dead. What was your favourite bit? Leave a review pretty please. Like, c'mon it's my birthday! xD**

**The link to Momo's date dress is on my profile :)**

**A special thanks to **GoddessOfImagination **for helping me with my writer's block :) *salutes***

** Well, until next time... I gotta sleep. Oyasumi~**


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